


We Live As We Dream

by SociallyAwkwardFox (Maze_Runner_Fae)



Series: Twisted Up [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, F/M, M/M, Nogitsune!Stiles, Season 3a & 3b Combined, The Alpha Pack, alpha!Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-13 02:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 107,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4503906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maze_Runner_Fae/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to 50 Shades of Creeper<br/>----<br/>It shouldn't have surprised me that things went absolutely horrible after a summer of relative peace and quiet. Relative in that I ended up waking up screaming every other night. Plus, there was a constant hole in my chest where Erica and Boyd used to be. Things couldn't get worse than an alpha pack though, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stiles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [onehaleofanadventure](https://archiveofourown.org/users/onehaleofanadventure/gifts).



> Title taken from the Heart of Darkness quote: "We live as we dream - alone. While the dream disappears, the life continues painfully."  
> \-----  
> I apologize for taking so long to finish the sequel, but here it is. All thirty chapters are already written out. The chapters in this story follow the same pattern as the first story. I'll be posting one a day until all the chapters are up. Hope you all enjoy!

The summer between my sophomore and junior year was spent completely different from how I’m used to spending my summers. For one thing, a majority of my summer was spent hanging out in my wonderful boyfriend’s loft instead of at my house or Scott’s playing videogames. For another, I had a freaking boyfriend in the first place. A real, actual boyfriend. Not an imaginary one that I made up to make people think I’m not pathetically single. And he’s hot. Like smoking hot.

Which, of course, brings me to the fact that I hung out with people other than Scott, my dad, and Mrs. McCall this summer. Not long after Allison left for France with her dad, Jackson’s parents decided it would be best to move to London after everything that happened to him (i.e. dying on the lacrosse field). After several extremely public screaming matches and a week spent at my house (don’t even ask me how that happened), Jackson managed to convince his parents that staying in Beacon Hills would be for the best and somehow we became friends along the way. Friends that constantly make fun of each other, but friends none the less.

Lydia and Danny also became a permanent fixture in my new summer routine. It started three days into summer when Lydia showed up at my door early in the morning and threatened to replace my entire closet if I didn’t come with her to get coffee. Danny was soon included into our morning coffee trips with Isaac and Derek sometimes showing up if they weren’t too busy staring at their perfect bods in the mirror. Most mornings were spent talking about whatever random thing popped into one of our heads, but some mornings Lydia would bring the bestiary with her so we could work on getting a translated copy. Either way, my mornings were always sugar-filled and noisy-not that I minded.

From the coffee shop Lydia, Danny, and I would head over to Derek’s loft where Isaac and I would ultimately end up in some kind of videogame battle until someone put an end to it. A majority of the time Derek would end up dragging me away to have lunch with my dad or to have-what I dubbed-Couply Time. Of course I still had Bro Time with my number one bro, but it was nice having something to do while he got to cuddle with puppies at work all day long. Not going to lie though, spending time with Derek was probably the highlight of my summer because who would say no to macking with the gorgeous Derek Hale after a romantic evening?

So overall my summer was great, if you don’t count the horrific nightmares, the impending sense of doom because of the Alpha Pack, and the occasional darkness that seemed to settle over me at random times in the day. There was also the constant wondering about what was happening to Erica and Boyd, if they were even alive still. This wondering was what led to Isaac disappearing mysteriously two days ago and none of us hearing a word from him since. More accurately we haven’t heard a word from him until he showed up a few seconds ago at the door to Derek’s loft with some sort of amnesia. Because werewolves can apparently get amnesia.

* * *

 

“So you’re saying you want to use some sort of near-death hypnotherapy to extract whatever Isaac forgot in his sudden case of werewolf short-term amnesia?”

“Something like that.”

“Isn’t it-I don’t know-a little bit dangerous!” I looked from Deaton to the other occupants of the room to see what their reactions were. “Please tell me I’m not the only one thinking this is extremely dangerous!”

“Of course it’s dangerous, but whatever I forgot must have been important.”

“More important than your life?”

“What if what I know could save Boyd and Erica? We have to try.”

I let out a loud sigh and let my eyes drift to the ceiling momentarily. “I know. I know. It just seems like a huge risk but you’re right. Erica and Boyd have been gone long enough. If we have a chance to find Erica and Boyd, than we need to take it.”

“What do I need to do?”

“I’ll fill up the tub, put some ice and herbs in it, and then you’ll have to be held under until you’re right on the brink of death. After that, I’ll ask you some questions in an attempt to pull your memories from your subconscious.”

“Should I… I don’t know. Take my shirt off or something?”

“If you don’t want it to get wet, then I would suggest removing it.”

“Alrighty then.” Isaac pulled his shirt over his head and then moved his hands down to his jeans but seemed to decide against it. “So now I just get into the freezing cold water?”

“Yes.”

“Should have worn a scarf today.”

“Try not to become a Capsicle. I’m not waiting sixty-seven years for you to wake up.” I sent Isaac a thumbs up when he glared at me for my comment.

Isaac slowly walked over to the tub and placed one foot in with a shiver then the other before sinking down into the water. Some of the water sloshed over the edge of the tub and onto the floor below, narrowly avoiding soaking Deaton’s shoes. Scott and Derek both moved to either side of Isaac and placed their hands on his shoulders. Deaton looked up from the book he had in his hands and motioned for the two to push Isaac down into the freezing cold water.

I bit my lip hard as I watched Isaac’s body starting to thrash around in an attempt to fight against the water starting to fill his lungs. My heart started to speed up as I continued watching Isaac try to get away from the hands holding him down.  A hand wrapped around my bicep and gripped tightly until my attention turned from Isaac to Lydia. Lydia gave me a reassuring smile while she rubbed my arm in reassurance until the thrashing stopped.

“Isaac? Isaac can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“What did you leave for?”

“To look for Erica and Boyd.”

“Did you find them?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me where they were?”

“I don’t know.”

“I need you to think harder. Where were they? Can you remember anything specific?”

“I-I can’t remember. It was dark.”

“Where were they?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where were they being kept?”

“Vault.”

“How did you get away from the Alpha Pack?”

“Girl. There was a girl.”

* * *

 

“It could be The First Bank of Beacon Hills.” I scrolled through the historical website I had found on the original buildings of Beacon Hills. “The bank was shut down about twenty years ago and is on the outskirts of town. It would be the perfect place for them to hideout in. There aren’t any other buildings around and the city hasn’t had anything to do with the building since it was made a historical landmark fifteen years ago.”

“Is there any way in?”

“You mean besides busting through the front door with your guns a blazing?”

Derek clenched his teeth tightly together and glared at me. “Yes, Stiles.”

“Well from what I can see there are some air ducts that are accessible from the outside, but they don’t lead into the actual vaults. It looks like there’s a small space in between the walls of the vaults and the outer wall. If you could get into that space you’d barely be able to move and there’d be a layer of solid rock.”

“I could break through it.”

“Really? You could break through it? What are you going to glare the wall into submission? Punch it down?” I held up my hand to demonstrate how little space Derek would have to work in. “This is the distance between the wall and you. I don’t think- Ow!”

“You don’t think?”

I rubbed my stinging hand while Derek smirked at me. “Fine. You can just macho your way through the wall. You’re an asshole by the way.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Uh huh.”

“I am.”

“Sure, sure. I’ll just come up with a plan for you. That’s all that I’m good for. Making plans while you go punching down walls.”

“I’m sorry I hurt your hand.” Derek wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed a kiss against the side of my neck. “You’re acting like a child. It didn’t hurt that bad.”

“How would you know? I’m a delicate flower. I bruise easily.”

“Right after you got shot you were begging me to let you go for a walk around the hospital. You’re far from a delicate flower.”

“That might be true, but that doesn’t mean you get to hit me. I should tell my dad. Domestic abuse is a serious subject.”

“Shut up, Stiles.”

“So rude. I don’t even know why I like you. You’re always mean to me.”

“Could you two stop flirting for more than five minutes? We need to come up with a plan to save Erica and Boyd before the Alpha Pack figures out we know where they’re hiding them.” Lydia laid down the blueprints of all the banks in Beacon Hills her and Danny had gone to get.

“Well you’re the one who was determined to get the two of us together in the first place. Any vomit inducing flirting that occurs is all your fault and I’ll have you know we have a plan. Ish.”

“And what plan is that?”

“They crawl in through the ventilation system and then Derek busts down the wall between them and vault.”

“That’s your plan?”

“We don’t exactly know what we’re in for. It’s not like Isaac gave us much to go on other than Erica and Boyd being in a vault.”

“Who all will be going on this little rescue mission?”

“I would think Derek, Scott, and Jackson. Isaac is still injured and I don’t trust Peter to not screw everything up by pulling a Mundungus Fletcher.”

“I’ll go call Jackson and tell him to meet Derek and Scott there. Waste of time getting those blueprints.” Lydia picked up her phone from the table and headed for the door out of Derek’s loft for some privacy.

“I’m just going to go… Somewhere else.” Scott scrambled out of the loft, almost ending up on his face in his haste to do so.

“That’s not weird or anything.”

“He’s still uncomfortable with our relationship.”

“I have no idea what to do with that boy. I’ve tried everything.” I wrapped my arms around Derek’s neck and pressed a soft kiss against his lips. “Try to be careful tonight. You’re going into this practically blind. We don’t know how many of them are in the pack or what they’ve done to Erica and Boyd. Just be careful okay? We’re supposed to have dinner with my dad tomorrow night and getting captured isn’t an excuse not to make it.”

“I think your dad would understand.”

“That’s what you think.”

“I’ll be careful as long as you promise not to do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

“Please. I would never!”

“Stiles.”

“Fine. I promise. I’ll stay here and hold down the fort with Lydia and Danny.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

 

Lydia snatched the pen I had been tapping against the table right out of my hand and sent me a scathing glare. It was the fifth pen she had taken from me for annoying her, but there was something about the Alpha Pack’s choice in hiding places that was bugging me. Why would they have picked somewhere so close to Beacon Hills when they could have gone to a more remote or distant location? There were plenty of hiding places in the woods and abandoned buildings along the highway that would make it less likely that our werewolves would catch their scent. There had to be something special about the building or the location or something!

“What is your problem?”

“What?”

Lydia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms firmly across her chest. “You obviously think something is wrong so what is it?”

“Doesn’t it seem a little strange to you that they would pick somewhere so close to Beacon Hills that isn’t out in the middle of nowhere? At any point in time this summer we could have accidently gone out there and caught their scent.”

“Maybe they have a druid with them.”

“Maybe, but it still doesn’t feel right. Sure bank vaults are a good place to keep werewolves captive, but there has to be some reason they picked this bank in particular. There must be something about it.”

“What are the walls made out of?” I jumped in shock and whipped around at the sound of Peter’s voice filtering through the loft. “No need to be scared.”

“When did you even get here?”

“You two were so focused on your little blueprint that you didn’t even notice me coming in and Mr. Mahealani seems to be taking a nap.”

“That’s not creepy or anything.”

“Are you going to answer my question? What were the walls made out of?”

“Hold on I think there’s a list of materials somewhere…” I shifted through several of the papers before coming away with the materials list in hand. “The walls of the vaults were made out of hecatolite. Whatever that is.”

“It’s the reason the Alpha Pack decided to set up camp there. Hecatolite is a stone that deflects the moon’s light. Essentially, what the Alpha Pack has done is kept Erica and Boyd from feeling the effects of the full moon for the past… Three months now? With tonight being the full moon, Erica and Boyd will go feral if they’re exposed to the moon. In that state, they’ll be able to put up quite the fight even against an alpha like Derek.”

“So if they manage to get loose on the town…”

“They’ll rip whoever they come across to shreds and then some.”

“We need to get in touch with one of them now.”

Lydia already had her phone pressed against her ear with a worried look on her face. “I’ll call Jackson. You can call Derek and I’ll wake up Danny to call Scott.”

“Alright.” I pressed speed dial number two on my phone and crossed my fingers; hoping that Derek would pick up the phone before he broke into the vault. “Come on Derek. Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

“You’ve reached the voicemail-”

I called Derek’s phone three more times before giving up and turning my attention to Danny who still had his phone pressed against his ear. Lydia was nervously chipping at the bright red paint on her nails while she watched Danny try to get a hold of Scott. Danny was just starting to pull his phone away from his ear with a shake of his head when Hungry Like the Wolf started blaring from my phone. I nearly dropped my phone in my haste to answer it as quickly as possible.

“Derek!”

“Stiles?”

“Please tell me you haven’t manly manned your way through the wall to the vault.”

“Boyd and another werewolf got out. They’re both feral.”

“Damn it! Wait. What about Erica?”

“She wasn’t there they must have been keeping her somewhere else.”

“Of course they are. Why would they make it easy on us by having them both in the same place!” I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. “Just hurry up and find Boyd and the other werewolf before they start killing the town’s people.”

“Jackson and Scott are already on their trail. I’m going to try to cut off their way into town.”

“Keep us updated and try not to get injured. Peter said even an alpha will have trouble going up against feral werewolves.”

“Stay inside.” The line went dead.

* * *

 

I bit my lip to the point it was painful as I looked out the huge window-wall that took up one side of Derek’s spacious loft. Peter had announced he was going to bed shortly after finding out about the two feral werewolves running around Beacon Hills like people’s lives weren’t in danger. Lydia kept up her cool demeanour most of the night, but the later it got the more her façade started to slip up here and there. Danny spent most of his night alternating between trying to distract Lydia and I and trying to find some way to track the two feral werewolves running around. Most of my time was spent pacing the loft while I worried about my best friend, boyfriend, and snark pal getting injured or worse.

The sun had started to come up a short while ago, but no word had come from the three werewolves running around the village. I looked down at my phone for the millionth time even though I knew I didn’t have a text message or a miss call to check. With a sigh I returned my phone to my pocket and went back to looking out the window where the sun had turned the sky a blood red color around it. The hairs on the back of my neck were starting to tingle and when I ran a hand over the back of my neck, a shiver ran down my spine. I ran a worrying hand through my hair which undoubtly left the newly grown out strands standing up all over the place.

“Would you get away from the window before I have to drag you away and tie you to a chair?” Lydia was glaring at me from her spot on the couch with her arms crossed and foot bouncing slightly.

“Does my standing bother you?”

“You’re not the only one who has something to worry about.”

“I never said I was. I just don’t understand why my stand would bother you.”

“Could you two please not argue? Things are tense enough as it is. If you two start fighting, it will only make it ten times worse.” Danny looked between Lydia and I several times then let out a sigh. “I’m sure everyone is fine. They’ll be back soon and you’ll both feel silly for worrying in the first place.”

“You’re probably right. Everything will be fine.”

“Relax, Stiles.”

“I’m trying. I swear I’m trying. It’s two versus three and Derek’s an alpha, so I’m sure they’ll be fine. Although, we don’t really know much about the other werewolf. For all we know they could be an alpha or super built or a trained ninja.”

“Stiles.”

“I know! I’m over thinking things like I always do. They’ll be fine. Derek, Scott, and Jackson will come back with Boyd and this other werewolf and we can start looking for Erica. We just have to be patient.”

“Exactly. You just have to be-”

The sound of the loft door being opened caused the three of us to spin around in our spots on the couch so we were facing the door. Scott and Jackson came in first with Boyd between them; an arm wrapped around each of their shoulders so they could support him. They quickly laid him down on the free couch and from where I was now standing I couldn’t see anything physically wrong with Boyd.

“He’s just knocked out.” Jackson wrapped his arms around Lydia’s waist and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “He wouldn’t stop trying to fight us so Scott crept up behind him and took him out. He’ll wake up soon.”

“That’s good. Where’s…” I turned around when Jackson motioned his head towards the door and was met with the sight of Derek standing in the doorway looking perfectly fine except for the rip in the side of his shirt. The wound had probably healed over long ago, but I still felt an intense desire to check over the area just in case. Derek’s eyes looked directly into mine when I finally moved my gaze up to his face and the soft smile he sent me made my desire to mother hen Derek fade. After shaking my head to clear it some, I quickly made my way to the doorway and pulled Derek into a tight hug.

“I’m fine.” Derek wrapped his arms firmly around me and squeezed. “I got a little scratched up, but it’s already healed. Nothing to worry about.”

“Good. I’m starting to think my father would be more disappointed if you didn’t show up to dinner, than if I didn’t.”

Derek rolled his eyes, but still managed a sarcastic reply. “Probably. Nothing happened while we were gone?”

“Nope. All was quiet on the home front. Plenty of time to sit around and think of everything that could go wrong, but nothing did so that doesn’t really matter now.” I ran a hand through Derek’s hair then pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“Are you two going to move out of the doorway so I can come in or am I supposed to sleep right here? I’m kind of exhausted.”


	2. Lydia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's more than a little surprised by the werewolf the Alpha Pack was holding with Boyd. Except for Peter. Of course.

“Sister? Your sister? Your actual sister?”

“Are you just going to keep asking him the same question?”

I was about to elbow Jackson in the side, but the glare Stiles sent Jackson seemed to do a better job than any elbow would have. “Excuse me for being a little disconcerted when someone I thought was dead comes moseying on in with a snarky comment and blood stained clothes. Guess I should be used to it by now considering what happened with Peter.”

“I was never dead. Derek just thought I was.”

“The sentiment still stands. Although, I now feel the need to ask how exactly you made it out of the fire.”

“Peter helped me out.”

“Peter?” Stiles clicked his tongue thoughtfully then picked up the closest object to him and chunked it at Peter’s head as hard as he could before the man realized what was happening so it hit him with an impressive thunk. “You didn’t think to mention that to any of us or at the very least Derek? I know it might not be considered casual conversation, but all it takes is a ‘I know you think I’m the only family you have left, but I managed to get your little sister out of the fire.’ Most people would consider that important information!”

“Well I couldn’t be sure that she was still alive. You wouldn’t have wanted me to get Derek’s hopes up would you?”

“You manipulative, calculating, self-centred, obnoxious douche mobile!”

“That’s not very nice.”

“It’s also not nice to use teenaged banshees to bring you back from the dead. We could always shove you right back in that hole in the ground. Only this time we’ll make sure you won’t be coming back out again.”

“As much as I agree with you, I think we’re starting to get off topic.” I rested a comforting hand on Stiles’s back and focused my attention on the new girl. “If you’re going to stay with Derek, then you’re going to need to get some clothes of your own. I hope you aren’t as fond of monochrome colors as your brother is.”

“You are not taking her shopping. She was held hostage by an Alpha Pack. The last thing she needs is a shopping trip with you.”

“Well Derek isn’t going to do it and unless you’re going to do it, that leaves me. You could always come with us.”

Stiles groaned and turned to look at Danny with wide eyes. “Why am I the gay best friend?”

“Because I’m her boyfriend’s best friend which means I can distract him when she wants to do something that he wouldn’t want to do.”

“I guess you have it worse then.” Stiles looked at Cora with a sympathetic expression. “I’ll try to keep her in line, but I can’t make any promises. Do you need anything right now? Water? Food? Hot shower?”

Cora raised an eyebrow and looked between Stiles and Derek. “I thought this was Derek’s apartment.”

“It is, but he’s got the manners of a goat which I’m sure you know. We have Chinese takeout if that makes a difference.”

“Mongolian beef?”

“Why am I not surprised? You and your brother have terrible taste.”

* * *

 

I was flicking through a rack of tops while Cora tried on the clothes we had found her so far when Stiles leaned his forearms against the top so our faces were even. I continued to ignore Stiles for several minutes until his unusual silence finally made me glance up at his face. His eyes were unfocused and he was chewing on his bottom lip, but didn’t appear to be aware he was doing it.

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh?”

“You’re being quiet which is never a good sign and you have your worrying face on.”

“I’m just thinking.”

“About?”

“Where to begin?” Stiles ran a hand through his recently grown out hair. “I’m wondering why the alphas would keep Erica some place different than Boyd and Cora. I’m wondering what the Alpha Pack’s next move will be. I’m wondering if we can really trust Peter.”

“They probably kept Erica somewhere else just in case their plan didn’t work. Even though we got Boyd and Cora back safely, they still have leverage over us because of Erica. As for their next move I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough and Peter. I’m sure you and I both know that we can’t trust Peter.”

“You’re right.”

I rolled my eyes and went back to looking at clothes for Cora. “Are you going to tell me what’s really bothering you now?”

“Sometimes I wish you were as easy to trick as Scott. He would have just comforted me and went back to talking about Allison’s hair.”

“If that was true, you wouldn’t have spent so much of your summer with me.”

“I suppose you’re right. I’m just worried about Derek.”

“Derek?”

“With everything that’s going on and what’s more than likely to happen in the near future I just don’t know how Derek’s going to handle it. You know he has a guilt complex the size of Texas and he’ll put everyone else’s life before his own.”

“Have you told him this?”

“I haven’t exactly had the chance since the feeling really started up last night.” Stiles pushed away from the rack he had been leaning against and absentmindedly grabbed a leather jacket in Cora’s size. “Plus, I know when I do bring it up he’ll tell me I’m worrying too much then ask me how I’m feeling to change the subject.”

“Still not sleeping?”

“Some weeks are better than others. My dad thinks I should go see a doctor, but I’m not really interested in being told I need to take more pills than I already do.”

“Try taking a warm bath then drink some tea with chamomile in it right before bed. It might help.”

“Thanks. I’ll be sure to do that. I think we have a tea kettle somewhere.”

I hummed in approval and held up a dark purple V-neck shirt. “This will definitely go well with your complexion.”

“Hold on a second. When did we get to the men’s section?”

* * *

 

 “My dad managed to get us the last possible flight back on Sunday so I won’t be able to see you until school on Monday.”

“Who am I supposed to model my potential first day outfits to?”

Allison let out a laugh that came out slightly grainy from my laptop speakers. “Whoever it is you normally model your first day outfit for? I’ll be lucky if I even have any clean clothes to wear.”

“I already promised Jackson he wouldn’t have to put up with it this year, but I suppose I could force Stiles to come over and watch. He would probably be more helpful than Jackson ever was. Don’t worry about not having clean clothes. I’ll make sure you have something to wear.”

“Stiles would probably pay attention as long as you take his phone away from him so he can’t text Derek. You’re the best. Can you try to make it fashionable, yet comfy? Jetlag is definitely a possibility.”

“If I must. Does your dad not realize the importance of having time to prepare yourself for another school year at Beacon Hills High? I’m pretty sure it sits on a Hellmouth.”

“You know he’s trying to keep me out of all the supernatural business in Beacon Hills for as long as possible. Which reminds me. Any news?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” I grabbed one of my pillows from behind me to lean on so I could see Allison’s face easier. “Isaac went looking for Erica and Boyd by himself. He managed to find out their location so Derek, Scott, and Jackson went to rescue them, but they didn’t know they hadn’t felt the effects of the full moon for three months.”

“Where were they keeping them?”

“In a bank vault made out of hecatolite that Derek busted into without knowing they would be feral. The two werewolves in there ended up getting loose so the boys ended up having to track them all night long.”

“But no one got hurt?”

“No, but Erica wasn’t in the vault.”

Allison’s eyes went wide and she clapped her hands to her mouth for a second. “What do you mean Erica wasn’t in the vault? I thought you said she was.”

“I said there were two werewolves. One of them was a girl, but it wasn’t Erica.”

“Then who was it?”

“Derek’s sister, Cora.”

“What?” Allison was so surprised she knocked her hand against her laptop and had to lunge for it when it started to fall. “What do you mean Derek’s sister? I thought Derek’s sister was dead. Peter killed her.”

“Peter killed his older sister. Apparently, he helped Derek’s younger sister escape the night of the fire and the Alpha Pack managed to capture her.”

“Wow that’s crazy. What’s she like?”

“She looks a lot like Derek does. Dark hair, green eyes. She talks a little more than he does, but not by much and she seems to be pretty snarky. I took her shopping and she bought more than various shades of black.”

“How is Derek taking the whole thing? It must be strange for him.”

“It’s hard to say. Derek isn’t exactly known for expressing his emotions.”

“I thought he was getting better about it.”

I rolled my eyes and let out a derisive snort. “Sure he’s getting better but that’s not really saying much considering he used to throw his current boyfriend into every available hard surface not that long ago. He’s gone from being emotionally inept to emotionally constipated. Not exactly a huge difference.”

“There is one thing he’s bound to be happy about.”

“And what’s that exactly?”

“Peter isn’t his only living relative anymore.”

“Derek isn’t the only one happy about that. Now I don’t have to feel bad if I decide to kill Peter because Derek will still have one family member left. Isaac also seemed pretty interested in Cora.”

“You have that look in your eyes. Please tell me you’re not going to try to get them together. People aren’t dolls. You can’t just dress them up and make them do whatever you want.”

“If I didn’t get involved, Derek and Stiles would still be doing that awkward dance around each other that made all of us want to bang our heads against the closest hard object.”

“True, but as we discussed earlier Derek has problems with expressing emotions and Stiles tends to be oblivious when it comes to other people being interested in him. That was a special circumstance. Just let Cora and Isaac go at their own pace.”

“Fine.”

“Thank you.” Allison looked up from her computer then nodded her head and looked back down at the screen. “I’ve got to go. Make sure the guys don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”

“Normally I would be offended at what you’re implying, but you’ve given me an impossible task so hurry up and get back. If I have to listen to Scott talk about your hair one more time, I’m going to rip his testicles off and turn them into a necklace.”

“Please don’t. I’ll be back before you know it. Bye, Lyds.”

“Bye, Ally. Make sure you buy me shoes that match the purse I’m sure you bought me.”

* * *

 

“What do you think of this one?”

“Meh.” Stiles was resting on my bed with his shoulders and head hanging off the edge while texting Derek from his upside down position. “Not your best.”

“You don’t even know what I’m wearing.”

“White blouse with a black floral skirt and what look like Mary Jane’s.”

“Fine. You pick one then.”

“What?”

“You’re here. You might as well help. Pick something.”

“I thought you only made me come so I could give my opinion. You never said anything about participating in anyway. There’s also the fact you’re a fashionista and I wear flannel on a regular basis.”

“Just pick something before I find a creative place to store a pair of my old shoes.”

“Alright. Jesus woman! Just give me a second.”

Stiles rolled ungracefully off of my bed and motioned for me to take a seat before heading into my closet with a determined look in his eyes. Several shirts were flung over his shoulder along with a couple of skirts that he obviously deemed unworthy. When he finally came out of the closet, Stiles was holding a light pink leather jacket in one hand and a pair of black lace up heels, while the other was holding a black dress with a bow on the waist and a light pink underskirt. He looked at me expectantly and held the clothes up a little higher.

“Not bad.”

“I was going for a mix of sophisticated and edgy hence the leather jacket.”

“Hand it over.”

“What? I thought you said it wasn’t that bad.” I rolled my eyes and pulled my shirt off causing Stiles to flail around in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to try it on. That’s how these things work. I model outfits and you tell me how good I look in them. You’ve been doing it all afternoon.”

“Yes, but you never stripped in front of me like one of the guys in the locker room!”

“You were going too slow now hand over the dress so I’m not standing around in my bra any more. You may have a boyfriend, but Jackson is known to have a jealous streak.”

“Don’t I know it?” Stiles gave me the dress and jacket then flung himself onto my bed like he owned the thing. “Can I ask you a question?”

“If you’re prepared for an honest answer.”

“The only time I ask you questions is when I’m prepared for an honest answer.”

“Proceed.”

“Have you ever thought about something to the point that it’s almost impossible to not think about it? Like it’s on a constant loop and it’s gotten to the point that you can’t turn it off no matter how much you want to.”

I moved from my spot in front of the mirror to the bed so I could curl up against Stiles’s side with my head on his chest. “Do you remember when my parents decided to get a divorce? It was right after your mom passed away so it wouldn’t surprise me if you didn’t, but they told me on a Friday and that was the only thing I thought about that weekend. Then Monday came and I knew I had to go back to school, so I forced myself out of bed and went. You know what the first thing I saw was?”

“No.”

“You. You were sitting on a bench with Scott and he was talking to you. He had this huge smile on his face and you were smiling right along with him. I could tell by your eyes that you were heartbroken, but you kept on smiling and that’s when I realized how alike we are. We know how other people expect us to behave so we do because we don’t want to worry them with what we see as our problems. We shove them down, but the problem with that is we can’t shove our problems down. We fixate and analyse and overthink because we’re supposed to be the ones with all the answers and if we can’t do that, what else do we have?”

“Every morning when I wake up the first thing I do is check my phone. Derek always gets up before me and even though he doesn’t like to show it he’s a romantic so he sends me good morning text messages. I unlocked my phone this morning and looked at the screen and… nothing. I couldn’t read it. It was like the letters were melting right off the screen.  I spend two hours this morning reading random sections of different books because for a minute there I couldn’t and it terrified me. What if something’s wrong with me? What if I’m broken or-or going mad?”

“There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“But what if-”

“Don’t do that. You can’t worry about what ifs. You’ll drive yourself crazy doing that.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m already a little crazy, but getting crazier wouldn’t be a good thing. Maybe it’s just stress and I’m freaking out over nothing.”

“Of course you’re stressed. There’s an Alpha Pack running around with dubious intentions and we have no idea what any of them look like.”

“Dubious?” Stiles’s chest shook with laughter so I gave him a hard smack that only made him shake even harder and bury his face in my hair. “Should I be wearing a fedora right now and talking in a really heavy accent? I could go out and buy a suit and some suspenders. Oh, I could gel back my hair.”

“You don’t have enough hair to gel back. It would just stick straight up and look like you stuck your finger in an electrical outlet.”

“Leave my beautiful hair out of this. What did it ever do to you?”

“Nothing. I know you only grew it out so Derek could tug on it while the two of you are making out.”

“Lies and slander.”

I let out a small laugh and turned to look up at Stiles who was staring aimlessly at the ceiling. “Whatever’s going on with you, we’ll figure it out. You managed to get past the anxiety and the panic attacks. We can help you get past this.”

“Lydia-”

“Don’t try to give me any of that ‘I can do this on my own’ nonsense. We’re your friends and we want to help you get through this. You just have to let us be there for you.”

“Okay. What do you suggest then?”

“I know exactly where to start.” I pushed off of Stiles’s chest and made my way over to the Blu-ray player in the corner of my room. “Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., or Chris Hemsworth?”

“How are superheroes going to help?”

“You need to get some much needed sleep and I know you’ve seen all three of these movies multiple times so pick one.”

“I guess I’ll go with RDJ then. I love me some Iron Man.”

I rolled my eyes as I put the movie in the player then made my way back to where Stiles was still resting on my bed. “I can’t decide whether you’d be Iron Man or Star-lord.”

“I’ve always thought I’m more of a Deadpool.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Why am I friends with you again?”

“Shut up and go to sleep.”

“Bossy.” Stiles wrapped his arms more comfortably around me and let out a sigh as he closed his eyes just as the opening scene was starting up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up tomorrow.


	3. Scott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first week of school is always so much fun, especially when the pack comes across a few new students.

“Ready for another fantastic school year?”

I shook my head at Stiles as I closed the door and buckled myself in. “Can’t summer last another month? Is that too much to ask?”

“It would seem so. Although, another month of summer would mean another month away from Allison and I know how much you hated being away from her.”

“That’s right. I get to see Allison today. I get to see Allison. Today!”

“Say that any louder and you’ll be seeing Allison in the ER after I end up crashing into a tree.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t really need my eardrums anyways.”

“I’m just excited to see Allison.”

“I know.”

“Do you think she’ll be there when we get there?”

“I’m a lot of things Scott, but psychic isn’t one of them.”

“I should just text her.” I pulled out my phone and brought up a blank message screen then stared at it with my lip between my teeth.

“Are you hoping to send her a message via your new found telepathy?”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“I don’t know. She’s not my girlfriend. Just ask her if she’s at school yet.”

“That’s lame.”

“That’s lame?” Stiles turned to look at me like I was going crazy. “You want to know whether she’ll be at school when we get there so ask her if she’s there yet. If she isn’t, then she’ll probably tell you where she is. I’m not seeing the problem.”

“We haven’t seen each other in months.”

“Yes and…”

“And I can’t just ask her if she’s at the school.”

“Because?”

“Because we haven’t seen each other in months!”

“Your reasoning is quite circular there buddy. Why don’t you use my phone to text her or text Lydia? Lydia probably knows where Allison is.”

“If I text Lydia she’ll tell Allison.”

“I give up. Use my phone. It’s in the cup holder.”

“Thanks.” I unlocked Stiles’s phone and mentally cringed at the new message notification. “You’ve got a new text from Derek.”

“That’s nice.”

“Do you want me to read it to you?”

“Absolutely not.”

“You do it for me.”

“Yes I do and now I know things that I never ever needed to know about you. Send your text then get your nose out of my inbox.”

“Fine. You and Lydia text a lot.”

“Scott!”

* * *

 

First period was devastatingly boring because it was math, which is always terrible, and I didn’t have any of my friends with me. In between first and second period a weird scent caught my attention, but seeing Allison quickly drove that thought right out of my mind. I completely forgot about the strange scent until I walked into history class and the smell seemed to hit me full force. My eyes went to where Stiles, Lydia, and Jackson were huddled together in the back of the classroom with two empty seats saved in front of them.

“Am I the only one-”

“Nope.” Jackson was sitting ramrod straight in his chair and glaring towards the front of the classroom. “It’s the twins.”

“Who?”

“The twins. They’re the new kids sitting up front with those smug looks on their faces.”

Stiles rolled his eyes at Jackson then looked directly at me. “He’s just mad because Aiden was hitting on Lydia right in front of him and I also feel the need to point out they aren’t the only new ones. There’s this nice girl named Kira who moved to Beacon Hills over the summer. She’s ridiculously sweet and we had a delightful conversation about comic books on the way to class.”

“I’m sure Derek will love to hear about that.”

“We haven’t talked about it, but who doesn’t love a little polygamy? One’s company, two’s a crowd, and three’s a party.”

“Well I want to be there when you tell him that.”

“I’m not really into voyeurism, but if you insist.”

“Would you two stop bickering? You’re going to give me a headache.”

“Sorry Lyds. The point I was trying to make is that there are three new students not just two. Something that needs to be taken into consideration.”

Lydia rolled her eyes and looked pointedly at the whiteboard. “We can gossip about how cute the new students are later. Scott needs to pay attention so his mom doesn’t ground him.”

“Hey! I’ve been doing better. You know I spent the summer doing SAT prep! This school year is going to be different than last school year.”

“It will if you pay attention to your teachers, instead of talking to Stiles and Allison during class.”

“You talk to Stiles and Allison during class.”

“Yes, but I know more than all the teachers in this school combined. There isn’t anything they’ll teach that I don’t already know.”

“You’re still not the boss of me.” I quickly started to dig around in my bag for my notebook so I wouldn’t have to see the glare Lydia was more than likely sending my way. “Has anybody told Derek about them?”

“Is Derek hiding around any corners? Of course no one told Derek. Stiles thought it would be better to wait to do it in person.”

Stiles snorted and tapped his pen hard against his desk. “You know exactly what Derek’s reaction would be if he found out. I am not about to have what happened during the Matt incident happen again. I nearly went crazy last time.”

“Good luck avoiding that.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be encouraging Scott to pay attention? What happened to that?”

“You need to tell Derek.”

“Quiet. I’m learning.”

* * *

 

“Honey I’m home!” Stiles strolled across Derek’s apartment, dropped his bag to the floor, and flopped down onto the couch with his feet up on the table. “Are you coming in or are you going to continue standing awkwardly by the door?”

“When did you get a key to Derek’s apartment?”

“I don’t know. Does that matter?”

“You have a key to your boyfriend’s apartment!”

“I made a key to your house without asking, what makes you think having a key to Derek’s place is any different? Are you okay today? You keep having these weird freak outs and I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to be handling them.”

I sat down next to Stiles and let my head fall against the back of the couch. “I don’t know. Everything was so hectic last year I guess I’m nervous that the same thing will happen this year. This summer wasn’t bad, but Erica and Boyd were missing and Erica is still missing.”

“We’ll find her and we’ll deal with this Alpha Pack. It won’t be chaos free and people might get hurt or worse, but we’ll do it.”

“Can’t we go back to having normal problem? Like being geeks and not having girlfriends.”

“I know you don’t mean that because you think the sun shines out of Allison’s ass and I still don’t have a girlfriend and that is definitely not a problem.” I let out a loud groan that Stiles laughed at before turning to look at the two girls and two boys that had just walked into the loft. “About time the rest of you showed up. We were getting bored.”

“Have you talked to Derek yet?”

“We haven’t even seen Derek yet, so no I have not almighty Queen Lydia.”

“Go get him.”

“But I just got comfortable.”

“Go!”

“Fine.” Stiles pushed himself up and slowly made his way up the stairs in an attempt to hold off the inevitable explosion for as long as possible.

Everyone in the room stayed absolutely silent for several seconds then when no immediate eruption happened, the four moved further into the room. Lydia and Jackson took their usual place on the loveseat Lydia had demanded Derek purchase while Danny took one of the chairs. Allison gave me a small smile as she took up the spot that Stiles had just vacated.

“How bad do you think it’s going to be?”

“Not really sure. Derek can be kind of protective of Stiles.”

“Kind of? Derek was ready to rip Matt apart for what he did to Stiles. He’s more than kind of protective of Stiles.”

“Sure, but he knows Stiles can take care of himself.”

Stiles’s loud voice easily floated down the stairs and into the living room. “We’re not even sure Kira is an alpha. Jackson and Scott couldn’t pick up anything on her like they did on Ethan and Aidan. They didn’t even talk to me.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. They know you’re friends with Jackson and Scott which means they’ll be keeping a close eye on you. It won’t take them long to figure out the connection between the two of us.”

“Wow.” Stiles turned around and almost fell down the last three steps of the stairs in the process. “They’re going to figure out the ‘connection between the two of us?’ We’ve done such a good job of hiding it. What with all those extremely public dates and dinners with my father at the diner. If they haven’t figured it out by now, I don’t think they will.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I know, but the fact of the matter is I’ve been in danger ever since Scott got turned into a werewolf and them knowing we’re dating isn’t going to increase the danger factor. Look, what we need to do is focus on the positives. We now know what two of the alphas look like and where they’re going to be during the days of the week.”

“We also know they’re interested in Danny and Lydia.” Derek sent me a scathing glare that definitely meant I should close my mouth while Stiles got a thoughtful look on his face.

“That’s good.”

“It is?”

“Yes. We can totally use that. They’re probably assuming you two don’t know anything about the werewolf mischief going on or if you do you’re not being told everything which makes you the weak links. It’s perfect.”

“Wait a second. You can’t be serious.”

“Of course I am.”

Lydia cleared her throat and raised her eyebrow at Stiles. “You seem to be forgetting something.”

“Like you and Jackson can’t stage a very public and loud break up in the middle of the school day where Aiden can hear you. I’m sure he’ll come swooping in before Jackson can even walk away and then he’ll be putty in your hands.”

“I could use a little fun. Stringing an alpha along so we can keep a close eye on him definitely sounds like fun.”

“I knew you’d see it my way. What about you, Danny? You up for turning the charm up and nabbing an alpha to call your own?”

“I don’t know.” Danny looked hesitantly around the room like he was waiting for someone to start convincing him to do it.

“You don’t have to. Although, I think I should point out that he seemed to have little hearts in his eyes when he looked at you and he’s not exactly bad looking. He might be the weakest link among them.”

“I suppose I could. He is pretty good looking.”

“Excellent!” Stiles clapped his hands and finally finished making his way down the stairs. “What do you guys want to talk about next? Isaac and Boyd will be back at school tomorrow right?”

“Yes. They’ll be fully healed by tomorrow and back to school.”

“That’s good to hear. I think that’s all on the docket for now. Who wants to watch Community?”

* * *

 

The rest of the week went by like it normally did other than the feeling of being constantly watched by the two new alphas. Danny started to get close to Ethan while Lydia and Jackson started to lay the foundation for their impending fake breakup. It really shouldn’t have been a surprise that things finally came to a head Friday morning when the twins showed up for cross country practice. Isaac immediately stiffening next to me at the sight of the two alphas casually taking their place with the rest of the runners.

“Relax. They’re not going to do anything when there are this many people around.”

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t.”

“You’d only be doing what they want. We have to play this smart.”

“I know, but we might want to keep a close eye on Jackson. He’s not exactly known for controlling his temper.”

“Good idea.”

Isaac and I started to make our way over to where Jackson, Danny, and Stiles were standing, but Coach Finstock got in our way before we could get there. “Settle down! I said to settle down! Some of you might have noticed that we’ve got two new recruits so make them feel welcomed after practice. Get going. We don’t have all day. Start running!”

My eyes went straight to Jackson who had taken off right after Aiden and Ethan did leaving Danny and Stiles still standing at the starting line. I glanced at Isaac for a second then took off after Jackson in the hopes one of us would be able to catch up to him before he manages to do something stupid. The three quickly disappeared behind the first curve making my adrenaline skyrocket at the many scenarios running through my mind. I pushed myself to go as fast as possible and when I finally got around the bend a growl worked its way from my throat.

The twins had Jackson pressed against a tree with both of their faces shifted so their red eyes and fangs were inches from Jackson’s face. Without thinking I moved next to the twin closest to me and used all my strength to pull him off of Jackson. The other one only got out half of a warning growl before Isaac tackled him to the ground so the two went tumbling into the leaves. Jackson was about to charge at one of the brothers, but I placed my hand on his chest to stop him right as the first runner came around the corner.

“Get it together.”

“Shut up, McCall.”

“You’re an idiot if you seriously think you can take on two alphas by yourself.”

“It’s not like the rest of you were doing anything.”

“Because the rest of them aren’t idiots and that’s the nice way of putting it.” Stiles was smirking at Jackson with his hands on his hips. “Do you ever think before you act or are you always this impulsive?”

“Say one more thing and I’ll rip you to shreds Stilinski.”

“You’re more than welcome to try but I don’t think you’ll get very far.”

I quickly put my hand over Stiles’s mouth to keep him from saying anything else that would make Jackson want to strangle him. “Shouldn’t we focus on the twins?”

“Fine.”

* * *

 

“You ready to watch Lydia break up with Jackson?” Stiles slung his arm casually around my shoulders and continued to stroll down the halls. “She promised me quite the show. I think she wants it to be something that people talk about for months.”

“If you weren’t with Derek, I would be pointing out what’s actually going on here. Unless you’re planning on breaking up with-”

“I swear to God Scott if you finish that sentence I will punch you in the kidney. Derek and I are not breaking up any time soon so let that thought go right now. Just let it go. Let it fly away.”

“You won’t even consider it?”

“Absolutely not. We have been over this.”

“I know.”

“Good. Can we watch the show now?”

“You’re getting a perverse joy out of this.”

“Yes. Yes I am.”

I leaned against the wall next to Stiles who was frantically motioning for Isaac and Boyd to join us against the wall. The two nodded at us then turned their attention to the direction that all the action would start in. Lydia and Jackson were just coming around the corner when a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I smiled down at Allison and received a beautiful smile in return until the sound of Lydia’s voice broke through our little bubble.

“This is the final straw Jackson!”

“What could I have possibly done to make you mad at me this time?”

“Don’t act so naïve. It’s not a good look on you.”

“Could you tell me what your problem is for once? All you ever seem to do is yell at me without even telling me what I did wrong. The first couple of times it might have been cute, but it’s getting old real fast.”

“Excuse me?” Lydia was now glaring at Jackson full force with her arms crossed firmly over her chest. “You must have the memory of a goldfish if you can’t remember!”

“Can’t remember that you’re insane? Don’t worry I won’t be forgetting that fact any time soon.”

“I’m the insane one? At least I don’t spend hours in front of the mirror staring at my own body and telling myself I look great. It’s a wonder that your head can fit through a door or in your Porsche.”

“Because spending hours on your hair and makeup is so different!”

“Hair and makeup is a way of expressing myself not that you care. I’m sick of you treating me like a trophy girlfriend.”

Jackson rolled his eyes and let out a large scoff. “When have I ever treated you like a trophy girlfriend? You’re just being dramatic like you are about everything.”

“Well I guess you wouldn’t care if I took my drama and found somebody who would be more interested in it. I’m sure there are plenty of guys who would be more than willing to put up with me since that’s all you’ve been doing this whole time.”

“And there you go twisting my words like you always do. You’re such a manipulative-”

“I suggest you think very carefully before you finish that sentence!”

“Why? I’m sure you’re going to break up with me either way. You always do what you want without giving any thought to how other people feel.”

“It’s nice to know you feel that way.” Lydia appeared to be giving Jackson a friendly pat on the shoulder, but the venom in her voice and the way her hand flexed gave the true harm behind the move away. “Being single will undoubtly suit you.”

* * *

 

“Hey.”

I looked up from the book I was reading to see Allison smiling down at me. “Hi.”

“Sorry we haven’t gotten the chance to really sit down and talk since I got back. My dad and I have been so busy unpacking the new apartment I haven’t really had time for anything else.”

“I understand. What’s the new place like?”

“It’s nice and I have a bigger closet than I did at the old house. Although Lydia might be more excited about that. I think she already has a plan to fill up all the extra space I have.”

“How is she doing after what happened today?”

“I’m pretty she’s having make up sex with Jackson even though they didn’t actually have a legitimate fight.” Allison rolled her eyes fondly and took a seat next to me on the grass. “Do you think they’ll be able to handle it? Jackson has the tendency to be a little…”

“Jealous and I think by a little, you mean a lot.”

“At least he won’t have to pretend to try to glare Aiden into submission.”

“He tried to take on both of them this morning during cross country training.”

“What?”

“They had him pinned to a tree by the time we got to him.”

“I hope no one told Lydia that.”

“The only one who would have is Stiles.” I let out a small chuckle and started twisting some grass idly between my fingers tips. “Jackson is so screwed.”

“Yes he is. So… How’s your mom?”

“She’s pretty good. She’s been picking up some extra shifts at the hospital recently.”

“What about the whole werewolf thing? How has she been doing with that?”

“I think it’s starting to get easier for her to deal with it, but she’s still having a hard time with me being a werewolf. I’m pretty sure the reason she’s coming around so fast is because she’s been talking to Sheriff Stilinski about it.”

“It’s sweet that they have each other. They make a cute couple.”

I snapped my head around to look directly at Allison. “Wait what?”

“Come on Scott. You must see it. I mean your mom already thinks of Stiles as her own son and Sheriff Stilinski feels the same way about you so it’s not like they would have to worry about either of you disapproving. They’ve known each other for a while and everything going on has probably brought them closer.”

“Well I guess that’s possible.”

“I should have let Stiles talk to you about this. I think you’re going into overload.” Allison gave me a bright smile and took my hands in her own. “How about we do something else to take your mind off of this?”

“I really need to finish this chapter before tomorrow.”

“You can always read it while I drive.”

“Right.” I quickly threw all of my stuff into my bag and helped Allison stand up. “I’m really glad you’re back.”

“Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	4. Derek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek gets a late night visit at the loft that prompt the pack to come up with a plan.

“How’s school been going?”

Stiles made a shows of flopping down onto the couch next to me. “Exhausting. For the past three weeks, I’ve spent every morning trying to keep Jackson from getting his head torn off by the twins, my teachers have been pilling me with homework, and I’m still not getting enough sleep. So that’s my life. What’s been going on in yours?”

“Cora and I have been spending some time together.”

“Really? Is it going well?”

“It’s…” I struggled to find the right word to describe just how things with Cora were going but nothing seemed to fit. It wasn’t that things between the two of us were going poorly, but there was an obvious rift that had developed over the years apart. Neither of us were the same people and that made talking difficult.

“Awkward? Strange? Surreal?”

“Yes.”

Stiles chuckled and gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Well I’m sure it will get easier. If you can stay in the same room as Peter, then you can have a fully functioning relationship with a sister that you haven’t killed.”

“Such words of wisdom. What would I do without you here to give me such amazing advice?”

“You know you’d be hopeless without me here to guide you.”

“Really now?”

“Uh huh.” Stiles let out a little laugh as his slotted his lips against mine and ran his fingers through my hair. “Is it bad that I missed this and it’s only been a few weeks since we’ve had time to be alone? I feel like it’s too soon in our relationship for me to be feeling this way.”

“How would you know? You’ve never been in a relationship before.”

“Such an asshole.”

“You always say that, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and started to stand up. “For some reason, I find your assholeness charming. I should get going. It’s starting to get late.”

“What time will your dad be home?”

“He’s not coming home tonight. He has the night shift.”

“You shouldn’t be staying at home alone when the Alpha Pack can get to you.”

“So what? I should just spend the night here with you?”

“Isaac is staying with Scott tonight and I doubt Cora would mind you staying here.”

“I guess I could call my dad and ask. It is a Friday so it’s not like I have to get up early tomorrow and go to school. He has been worrying when I have to spend the night at home alone.” Stiles bit his lip and messed around nervously on his phone for a few seconds before finally pressing it against his ear. “Hey dad.”

“Yes son?”

“What’s with that tone of voice?”

“You have your ‘I want to ask you something that will potentially make you yell at me’ voice on.”

“I do not have a voice for that!” Stiles looked at me, but I quickly averted my eyes so he wouldn’t be able to ask me. “Oh, my god. I can’t believe I have a voice for that. Who has a voice for that?”

“Stiles, the question.”

“Right! I was wondering if I could stay over at Derek’s place tonight. His sister will be here if that makes a difference.”

Sheriff Stilinski let out a huff to try to cover up his laughter. “As long as Derek doesn’t mind. Try to get some sleep.”

“I will. Night, dad.”

“Night. Tell Derek I wish him luck.”

“You’re a terrible father and he can hear you. Werewolf hearing remember." Stiles pulled his phone away from his ear and looked at it with a pinched up expression. "He hung up on me.”

* * *

 

The sound of something banging against the apartment door immediately pulled me out of sleep and put my senses on high alert. The smell of alpha hit my nose causing my entire body to tense up in anticipation for the inevitable confrontation to come. I felt a hand tighten its grip on my shirt then the body next to me moved until our faces were level. Stiles motioned his head towards the door and gave a head tilt, but I simply pressed my finger to my lips and slid out of bed. I was almost to the door when a clawed hand clamped down around my forearm.

“It is considered polite to answer a door when someone knocks.” I glance at Cora then reluctantly started to reach for the door only to have it yanked open right before I reached the handle. “I hope you don’t mind the lateness of the hour. I had other business to attend to earlier but I thought we ought not to put off meeting any longer.”

“Of course.”

“I had heard you were a man of few words. This will make things quite simple then. This is my associate Kali and I am Deucalion. I must admit I was quite surprised when you managed to retrieve your beta, but that is not what I am here to talk about. I’m sure you’ve been curious as to what my pack is doing in your territory.”

Deucalion inclined his head as if he was waiting for some indication to continue talking. “Yes.”

“It is quite simple really. A pack needs territory and it is well known that this particular territory is… unique. I have had my mind set on this land for some time. You can either hand over your territory and join my pack or I will take it from you and kill anyone else that gets in my way.”

“Not much of a choice.”

“Now, now. No need to be ungrateful. I am giving you quite a generous choice. I am offering you the chance to live.”

“At what price?”

Deucalion’s mouth warped into a demented smile and he flicked his wrist in Cora’s direction, but made no move towards her. I realized too late that the motion was meant for the woman behind him who moved so quickly that she looked like a blur for the second it took her to plunge a pipe into Cora’s abdomen. A puddle started to form on the floor where Cora’s blood had managed to trickle through her fingers. Cora let out a gasp then ground her teeth together to keep from letting out any more sounds of pain.

“This offer will only be available for a limited time. I suggest you make your decision wisely. I am not a patient man. Come Kali.” Kali flashed her red eyes at Cora then yanked out the pipe before guiding Deucalion out of the building.

“What’s the price of joining the Alpha Pack?”

I turned to face a very dishevelled looking Stiles with his arms crossed over his chest. “I would have to kill all the members of my pack.”

“I thought having a pack made an alpha stronger.”

“There can be just as much power from death as creation.”

“So you either kill all of us and join them or they kill all of us including you and any people who might accidentally get caught in the cross fire?”

“Yes.”

“We need to come up with a plan. Like yesterday.”

* * *

 

“So the Alpha Pack just showed up here in the middle of the night?”

“Not the entire pack. Only Deucalion and Kali.” Stiles was giving Jackson a snarky smile that made the other boy glare at him.

“Do you even know how many members are in the Alpha Pack, smart ass?”

“It’s not like Deucalion waltzed in here and told us all of his plans, dumb ass.”

“Five.” Everyone in the room turned to look at Cora because in every other meeting she had simply observed in silence. “While they were holding us captive there were five distinct scents and a sixth one that showed up from time to time, but that one wasn’t a werewolf.”

“Do you know what the name of the fifth alpha is?”

“Yes. Ennis. He liked to pit us against one another for fun. He found it amusing.”

“Sounds like a swell guy. What’s he look like?”

“Typical meathead. Big and bulky with a pea sized brain.”

“That would make Ennis the enforcer which is kind of a useless position since all of them are alpha werewolves. Kali is obviously Deucalion’s right hand man and the twins are his spies. They’re meant to keep an eye on the rest of us so he knows what we’re up to.”

“What do you suggest we do?” Boyd’s deep baritone easily cut Stiles off before he could continue his ranting. “The next full moon is coming up soon.”

“And they’ll be at their strongest.”

Jackson snorted loudly. “So what? We’ll be stronger too. We should just attack them head on. We outnumber them by one which means we have the advantage. They won’t be able to keep track of the extra person.”

“I hope you’re just pretending to be that stupid. You don’t really think you can take on an alpha? What you’ve just suggested isn’t a plan. It’s a suicide mission.”

“It’s better than sitting back and doing nothing.”

“So you’re just going to put your heads on silver platters for them? Much better than sitting around and doing nothing.”

“Well I haven’t heard you make any suggestions. Aren’t you supposed to be the one that makes all the plans?”

“There aren’t many options.”

A smug grin made its way onto Jackson’s face. “Looks like we’ll be going with my idea then. Anyone have a problem with that?”

“Derek you can’t seriously be okay with this?”

“We’ve been on the defence for too long. We have to make an offensive move if we’re going to have any chance at defeating them. They won’t be expecting it so we’ll have that advantage as well as outnumbering them.”

“Fine. Attack them head on.”

“Stiles.”

“No. This plan is suicidal. You’re dead set on doing it so I won’t stop you, but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it. Five alphas against one alpha and five betas is… it’s insane.”

“If we don’t do this then the Alpha Pack will either attack us or attack innocent people. We have to do this.” Stiles gave a brief nod, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was still completely against the plan.

* * *

 

The night of the full moon seemed to come quicker than it normally would and this wasn’t helped by the fact Stiles was short with me all week. Cora and Boyd started to get more and more anxious as the week progressed, but neither gave any indication that they wanted to back out. When Friday afternoon finally rolled around Jackson, Isaac, Boyd, Scott, and Cora all ended up sitting on the couch in the loft with solemn faces. No one said a word even when the time came to head over to the hideout the Alpha Pack had been using since we broke Cora and Boyd out of the bank vaults.

I motioned for the others to stay where they were while I made my way into the train depot. The sound of five heartbeats was easy to pick up, but upon entering the depot I only saw one person standing at the top of a set of stairs. Deucalion was standing perfectly straight with his hands resting on the top of his pitch black cane. The light of the full moon was reflecting off the lenses of the sunglasses Deucalion had covering his eyes. His mouth twisted up into a smirk like he found something particularly amusing.

“I hope you don’t think I’m completely oblivious to the betas you have lurking around outside.”

“I didn’t want to risk them being caught in an ambush.”

“Then it is safe to assume that you are declining my generous offer.” Deucalion removed his sunglasses and cleaned them on his shirt. “What a pity. You could have made a good addition.”

“I’d have to disagree.”

“How unfortunate. I think you should know that as soon as we finish here I plan on finding that boy of yours and ripping his organs out. I’ll enjoy hearing him scream. I’ve heard he’s got quite the mouth on him.”

I could feel my blood beginning to boil and my fingernails transforming into claws in response to the words pouring out of Deucalion’s mouth. It wasn’t until a heavy body slammed into mine that I realized Deucalion had been using my anger to distract me from whoever had snuck up behind me. My head slammed against the floor causing my vision to go white. Before I had time to clear my head, I was lifted off of the ground and thrown into a pillar.

I quickly stood up and took a swipe at the bulky man that had been advancing on me, but missed his right side by mere inches. He took his own swipe at my chest, but I dodged his attacked and made a fast counter that caught his left shoulder. The man let out a loud growl and started to lunge at me again only to be hit mid-air by a wolfed out Scott. The two hit the ground a few feet away from me then rolled to their feet and faced each other with identical snarls.

By the time I managed to push myself off of the dirty floor, Cora and Isaac were locked in a heated battle with a bloodthirsty Kali. Scott was managing to hold his own against the one who had attacked me (probably the one Cora had said was named Ennis) and I knew Boyd and Jackson would take on the twins. I began to move towards the stairs Deucalion was still standing at the top of, but I came to a halt when the twins landed right in front of the first step.

They were both shirtless and one moved to kneel next to his brother while the other placed his fist on the center of the kneeling one’s back. For a second a snarky voice in my head that sounded exactly like Stiles commented on werewolves and their inability to keep their clothes on. All my thoughts came to a stop at the sight of the two brothers beginning to merge together until one gigantic werewolf was standing in front of me.

“Holy shit.” I didn’t have the chance to agree with Jackson’s because the huge werewolf charged at us and all three of us had to jump out of the way. “Boyd and I can keep them occupied. You should go help McCall. Looks like he’s about to get his ass kicked.”

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

I gave Jackson a brief nod then headed over to the ledge that Ennis was slowly moving Scott closer and closer to. Ennis was so distracted corralling that he didn’t notice me coming up behind him until I slashed my claws across his back. A loud howl permeated the air giving Scott the perfect chance to take his own swipe at Ennis while he slipped around Ennis so he was no longer in danger of going over the edge. Scott spared me a quick glance then turned his attention back to Ennis just in time to avoid the clawed hand that was coming his direction.

“I thought you were supposed to be going after Deucalion.”

“The twins got in the way and you were in trouble.”

“He’s quicker than he looks.”

“I see that.”

While it was true Ennis was quick and strong, his attacks were uncoordinated leaving gaping holes to vulnerable part of his body. I was just about to make my move after dodging a claw aimed at my ribs, but the sound of Scott letting out a pained shout made me falter. His body hit the ground with a soft thud causing a look of triumph to spread across Ennis’s face. I used his distraction to my advantage by slashing from his left shoulder to his right hip so that blood spurted onto his white shirt. My claws were inches from ripping his throat out, but he managed to grab a hold of my wrist at the last second.

His grip on my wrist tightened to the point it felt like the bone in my wrist were going to snap then he yanked me forward. My other hand latched onto his shoulder to keep my body from falling off the edge and to the escalator below. The heel of my left foot had landed right on the ledge and when I dug my feet in to keep Ennis from pushing me over part of it crumbled away. I tried with all my strength to push Ennis backwards, but it was completely useless since he still had a hold of one of my hands.

“Derek!” Scott was seconds away from digging a set of claws into Ennis’s Achilles, but the ground beneath my left foot gave way before he could.

I tightened my grip on Ennis’s shoulder when I felt my body arcing backwards over the edge. His eyes went wide in realization and he tried to pull away right before we were sent tumbling, but he only succeeded in pushing us over faster. The sound of air rushing past my ears was so loud I almost missed the sound of someone screaming my name. My mouth was opened to reply, but my body struck the ground before I could and everything went black.

* * *

 

The first thing I felt upon waking up was a sharp stab of pain starting in my head and radiating down my spine. A gasp slipped through my lips after I tried to move my arm causing the pain to multiple exponentially. I slowly opened my eyes to reveal the dingy ceiling of the all too familiar train depot. I strained my ears in an attempt to pick up the heartbeats of my pack, but the only sound I heard was Ennis struggling to breathe. If the pack and the alphas weren’t anywhere near by that must mean that the fighting had scatter after I fell.

With a grimace I rolled myself onto my stomach and glacially pulled myself to my feet. I stumbled over to the closest wall so I could leaned against it while I waited for my head to stop spinning. Once my vision cleared up, I started to make my way out of the depot. It could have taken hours to finally get outside, but the pain was so intense I couldn’t register anything else. How the hell would I make it back to the loft in this condition?

My mind reeled at the thought of having to walk all the way back to the loft while every inch of my body felt like it was being stabbed. Part of me considered sliding to the ground and hoping that anyone besides the Alpha Pack would find me. Another part knew that sitting here was the single worst idea on the face of the planet. The Alpha Pack would come back for Ennis and not hesitate to kill me on the spot. I let out heavy sigh then picked up my right foot and started my long walk back into town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	5. Allison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack has to deal with the aftermath of losing Derek in the middle of what appears to be an attack by the Alpha Pack. However, things aren't always what they seem.

I tapped my fingers along with Young Blood on my steering wheel while Lydia continued to tap away on her phone. For the hour we had been following the bus that the boys were in, Lydia had spent a majority of the time texting nonstop. Every time I glanced over at Lydia her mouth was turned down in a frown and her body was completely rigid. Her normally immaculate clothes were slightly crumpled and she hadn’t covered up the small bags beginning to form under her eyes.

“How are the boys?”

“What?”

I carefully brought the car to a stop behind the bus then gave Lydia my full attention. “How are the boys doing? Is Stiles-”

“He’s fine. He’s worried about Scott.”

“Why?”

“Something about him not healing properly. His texts are a little scrambled. I’ve tried to ask the others what’s going on.”

“They’re not answering?”

“Boyd is trying to keep Isaac from mauling one of the twins in front of everyone and Jackson is making sure Ethan doesn’t do anything to Danny. Stiles is going to try to get Finstock to pull over at the next rest stop so we can take a closer look. He says to bring a sewing kit if we have one.”

“I’ve got one in the back. Are you sure Stiles is alright?”

Lydia pressed her lips into a thin line and stared resolutely at the bus in front of her. “Of course he isn’t alright, but he’s not going to let that stop him from doing what needs to be done. If something is stopping Scott from healing properly, then Stiles will do everything he can to figure out what it is.”

“What would be keeping Scott from healing properly? I doubt the Alpha Pack was using wolfsbane.”

“I don’t know. All the others have already healed, so it’s not because the wounds were inflicted by an alpha. Maybe it’s psychological not physical.”

“What do you mean?”

“Haven’t you ever heard of the placebo effect? A person expects a treatment to work and it does even though what they’re being given shouldn’t actually help in any way. It’s all a trick of the mind.”

“So…” I shifted my attention back to the road and followed along as the bus started making its way off of the highway. “You think Scott isn’t healing because he thinks he doesn’t deserve to heal? Why would he think that?”

“I don’t know. The only reason I can think is-”

“Derek. He blames himself for what happened to Derek.”

“Seems that way. Hopefully we can manage to get his head out of his ass.”

“And if we don’t?”

“We stitch him up and hope that his body starts to heal itself.”

* * *

 

When Lydia and I finally pulled up to the rest stop, most of the boys were making their way back to the bus with Scott and Stiles nowhere in sight. My eyes locked with Boyd who motioned towards the men room before turning his attention back to Isaac. I tightened my grip on the small sewing kit in my hand and followed Lydia into the grimy rest stop bathroom. Scott was slumped against the wall by the sinks in a shirt covered in blood, while Stiles hovered nervously next to him.

“Thank goodness you two are here. I don’t know what else to do. He’s just not healing.”

“I can take care of it. Can I?” Stiles nodded and moved out of the way so I could kneel down next to the gaping wound in Scott’s side. “Scott? Can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to stitch up your side alright?” Scott gave a nod then quickly moved his attention away from the needle in my hand. “The good news is the bleeding’s stopped.”

“That’s great, but why isn’t it healing?”

“Lydia thinks it might be because you feel guilty about what happened last night.”

“Why would that keep me from healing?”

“On a subconscious level you don’t want to heal, so you’re not.”

“What do we do?”

* * *

 

After I finished stitching Scott up, the four of us returned to our respective vehicles and started back on the road again. We had only been driving for an hour when Lydia received a text from Stiles informing her the meet had been postponed and they’d be stopping at a motel for the night. It was obvious from Lydia’s tone that she was not pleased at the idea of spending the night in some dingy motel room, but she made no demands for me to turn around. Upon entering our room Lydia looked like she was having second thoughts, but she set her bag down on the bed nonetheless.

“I don’t like it. There’s something about this place…”

I pulled my sweats out of my bag and grabbed one of the towels sitting on the table by the bathroom. “It’s only for one night.”

“A lot can happen in one night.”

“Nothing is going to happen, Lyds. Just try to relax. Today has been stressful for everyone. We just need to take a step back and relax.”

“Maybe.” Lydia inspected the other towel with a critical eye before picking it up and heading towards the door. “I’m going to go get a new one. Do you want anything while I’m out?”

“No. I’m fine. I’ll be in the shower. Driving for that long always makes me feel dirty.”

“Alright.”

Lydia nodded her head and made her way out of the room making sure to close the door firmly behind her. I stared uncertainly at the closed door for a few seconds then shook my head to clear it and moved into the bathroom. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Lydia’s instincts, after what happened between Stiles and Matt it was hard not to, but with two members of the Alpha Pack in such close proximity it was possible that the feeling she’s getting is because of them. With everything that happened last night and the way Scott had been acting, it could be that Lydia was picking up on that. The problem is there’s always the possibility that that isn’t what Lydia is feeling and something else could be lurking around. Something we aren’t prepared to handle, especially with Scott struggling to heal properly.

With a sigh I finished rinsing the conditioner out of my hair and was about to turn the water off when a black shape in the corner of my eye made me do a double take. Cautiously I grabbed a hold of the shower curtain and pulled it back enough so that I could stick my head out to see. I was more than a little shocked to realize that it was Scott standing stock-still in the doorway of the bathroom. His eyes were large and unfocused and his hands were clenched firmly at his sides.

“Scott? What are you doing in here?”

“Had to see you.”

“Right…” I slowly dragged my eyes away from Scott so I could turn off the water and wrap my towel around my body. “Is everything alright? Is your side starting to heal yet?”

“Do you still love me?”

“What? Scott, of course I do. Why are you asking me that?”

“Wanted to make sure.”

“Why wouldn’t I love you?”

Scott blinked his eyes several times then a look of confusion crossed his face. “Allison?”

“Scott, what’s going on? You’re starting to freak me out?”

“How did I… When did… I’m sorry. I’m going to…” He awkwardly turned around and left the motel room without another word.

* * *

 

I was sitting on my bed flipping aimlessly through the TV channels when Lydia finally came back fifteen minutes later with a fresh set of towels and a grim expression on her face. She set the towels down where the old ones had been then sat stiffly on the edge of her bed. For several minutes Lydia remained perfectly still on her bed, until an explosion on the TV snapped her out of her trance.

“They have a counter for the number of suicides that have been done here.”

“What?”

“There was a counter above the front desk. I asked the woman what it was for and she told me it was the number of suicides that have been done here. She seemed quite proud of the fact.”

“How many?”

“A hundred and ninety-eight.” Lydia’s eyes ghosted nervously around the room like she was looking for something but couldn’t find it. “I don’t like this place. Something doesn’t feel right about it.”

“Scott was here earlier. He was acting really strange like he didn’t know what he was doing.”

“Something’s wrong I can feel it.”

“What can we do? We have no idea what could be causing this.”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe I should call Scott. Make sure he’s okay.” I was about to say more, but Lydia’s eyes were directed at the vent above her head distracting me from what I had been about to say. “What is it? Lydia?”

“Can’t you hear it?”

“Hear what? Lydia you’re scaring me.”

Tears sprung up in Lydia’s eyes and she bolted out of the room without another word. I quickly followed her lead into the room next door and was surprised to find that the room looked like it was under construction. Lydia had a look of confusion etched upon her face, but she made no move to leave the room despite the fact it was empty.

“Lydia come on. There’s nothing here.”

“I heard them.”

“Heard who?”

“Two lovers committing suicide.” Lydia whipped around with a flurry of red hair and grabbed my arm as she started to head out the door. “We need to get answers. Something isn’t right and we can’t wait around for things to go wrong.”

“What do you suggest?”

“We’re going to go see the receptionist I talked to earlier and then we’re going to get Stiles.”

I followed diligently behind Lydia while she marched her way through the motel parking lot and to the door labelled ‘office’ in chipped white painted. Without bothering to knock she pushed open the door wide enough for the two of us to slip into the small room. On the counter next to the log book was a sign proclaiming the receptionist wouldn’t be back until six a.m. the next morning. I was just about to suggest that the two of us go back to the room when I noticed the counter that Lydia had said read one hundred and ninety-eight earlier was now at two hundred and two.

“Lydia.”

“I see it. We need Stiles. Now.”

* * *

 

“What is so important that you need to see me right this instant and alone?” Stiles entered our room without so much as a ‘hello’ and made himself comfortable on Lydia’s bed. “I haven’t done anything to piss either of you off that I’m not aware of have I?”

“No. It’s about the werewolves and this place. Lydia thinks there’s something going on here.”

“So you two have noticed the werewolves are acting weird? I thought it was just me.”

“Scott came by here while I was in the shower and looked like he was in a trance.”

“I had the same problem with him earlier. I came back from going to the vending machine and he was staring off into space. I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he just kept on staring. Plus, there’s what happened with Boyd.”

“What happened with Boyd?”

“Well like I said I went to the vending machine and Boyd was already there. Whatever he was trying to get was stuck so I offered to help, but he just punched through the glass and walked away. He didn’t even say anything to me.”

“Have you talked to any of the others?”

Stiles shook his head and looked down at his hands with a tight expression on his face. “Do you think it’s because… Because of what happened last night? Werewolves don’t last long without an alpha right? Maybe-”

“No.” Lydia’s voice cut Stiles off with swift certainty. “There’s something going on here. They have a counter for the number of suicides that have been committed here and it went from one hundred and ninety-eight to two hundred and two in the span of an hour.”

“And you think it has something to do with the werewolves.”

“Yes.”

“But if that’s the case then why wasn’t the number changed to two hundred and four? I mean there are six werewolves not four. Shouldn’t whatever’s going on make all of them off themselves?”

“What if whatever this is, is being caused by the Alpha Pack?” Lydia and Stiles both turned to look at me at the exact same time. “It would explain why the counter only went up by four right?”

“Right. So what do we do? There’s not enough of us to have one looking over each werewolf. Ethan would get suspicious if Danny just disappeared for the night.”

“I want to go back to the room next door. There could be something there that we overlooked the first time.”

I glanced at Stiles who was looking at me with raised eyebrows. “Lydia there wasn’t anything in there, but some construction equipment and supplies. What are you hoping to find?”

“No idea, but it’s better than sitting here and doing nothing.”

“Alright.”

The three of us grabbed our phones and filed out of the room in silence to the one next door. Stiles reached out to twist the knob, but was met by resistance before he could finish turning it all the way. He looked at the two of us and tried the knob again only to be met with the same result.

“Did you two lock the door behind you?”

“No. We didn’t even shut the door.”

“Someone must ha-wait a second. Do you hear that?” I strained my ears to try and hear what Stiles was talking about and was surprised by what I heard. “That’s a saw right? I’m not going crazy.”

“If you are, then I am too. Kick it down on three?”

“I’ve always wanted to kick down a door.”

“One, two, three.” Stiles and I both kicked out at the door causing it to give way under the combined pressure. Standing in the middle of the room was one of the twins with a Skilsaw poised to cut through his abdomen. Stiles quickly moved to grab the saw out of the boy’s hand but he was no match for the alpha’s strength regardless of his best efforts. I grabbed a hold of Stiles’s waist and tried to help him pull the saw away. Even with the two of us pull, the boy was steady getting closer to his intended target.

He was inches aways from running the saw through his body when Stiles managed to tug the saw out of his hands at the same time Lydia yanked the cord out of the electrical socket. Stiles stumbled and almost ended up face planting on the still spinning blade. None of us had time to be relieved at this stroke of luck because the twin now his claws out and ready to do the job the saw had failed to do. I quickly grabbed at the arm knowing that I wouldn’t be able to hold him back on my own. A second set of hands appeared next to mine causing the three of us to go tumbling to the ground.

A startled yelp filled the air followed by several groans and then a choked off noise of confusion. I pressed a firm elbow into the body sprawled out on top of mine until whoever it was finally moved off of me. Stiles offered me a hand after he picked himself up off of the floor and pulled me into a tight hug that I eagerly returned. My eyes darted to the twin that had been trying to disembowel himself earlier and was glad to see that while he looked confused, he seemed to no longer want to make his insides his outsides. I was about to say something to him, but before I could he was out the door like a bat out of hell.

* * *

 

“He obviously isn’t going to tell us anything.” Stiles was standing with his back pressed against the wall of the motel and his arms across his chest. “On top of that, our theory about this being the Alpha Pack’s doing is now out. Which means three of our own are still in danger and we have no idea who is actually doing whatever this all is.”

“Are we really sure we don’t know what this is? It seems kind of familiar to me.”

“Lydia’s party.” I nodded and sent Lydia an apologetic look that she dismissed. “Who would have been able to get all six of them with wolfsbane? It’s not like they’re BFFs that hangout and do each other’s nails.”

“They were all on the bus together or maybe it’s in the ventilation?”

“At this point I don’t think it matters how it got into them. What we need to worry about is figuring out a way to snap them out of whatever suicidal trance this strand puts them in. How did Thing One snap out of it?”

“He burned himself on the radiator.”

“So we just cause them pain and they snap out of it. Sounds easy enough. Guess we’re going to have to split up. I’ll take Boyd and Isaac, Lydia can get Jackson, and Allison can get Scott. Here’s the key to our room.” I took the key from Stiles’s outstretched hand and turned in the direction of their room. “We should meet back up in the parking lot. If the wolfsbane is in the vents, then we need to get the werewolves out of their rooms.”

* * *

 

My hands were shaking as I tried to fit the small key into the lock on room 213. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening them back up and finally managing to fit the key into the keyhole. The relief that flooded through my body was short lived upon realizing that the room was completely devoid of any signs of life. There wasn’t a body curled up under one of the comforters. The door to the bathroom was wide open with the curtain on the shower drawn back, but nobody inside. I quickly pulled open the closet door then checked under the beds, but all that I found were a few dust bunnies.

I could feel my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest as I moved around the room looking for some clue as to where Scott would be. His key was sitting on the nightstand and the ice bucket was resting next to the TV with the plastic bags still inside it. All of Scott’s stuff was scattered around the room even his phone was laying on top of the pile of clothes in his gym bag.

A groan of frustration ripped out of my throat as I ran out of the room, slamming the door with a loud bang behind me. My eyes searched frantically around the deserted motel hallway making the sense of doom in the pit of my stomach grow rapidly. I headed towards the stairs at a sprint and took them two at a time until I came to a grinding halt at the base of them. Standing in the middle of the parking lot was Scott with something gripped tightly in his right hand. Without thinking I ran across the parking lot only to come to a stop once again when I realized what Scott was holding.

One of the road flares from the bus was held unlit in his hand and he was covered in some sort of liquid. I took a deep breath and was shocked when the smell of gasoline burned my nose. My eyes went wide as I realized what Scott was going do. I dropped my gaze once more to the road flare in his hand then brought my eyes back up to his.

“Scott! Scotty!” Stiles was now standing next to me with Lydia at his side and a devastated look on his face as he watch Scott light the flare. “Scott what are you doing?”

“There’s no hope for me. There’s no hope for Derek. There’s no hope for any of us. It was better before. When I was nobody. When I wasn’t any good at lacrosse, nobody knew who I was, nothing special about me. Things would be better if I went back to being no one. No one at all.”

Tears were pouring down Stiles’s face as he slowly stepped forward into the pool of gasoline surrounding Scott. “You’re not nobody. You’re my best friend. My brother. You’re the guy that held me while I cried for hours after my mom died and I can’t lose you. I’ve lost my mom, now I’ve lost Derek, and I can’t lose you. So if you’re going to do this, then I’m doing it with you.”

Stiles slowly worked the road flare out of Scott’s hand and flung it across the parking lot onto a dry spot of pavement. He threw his arms around Scott’s neck and pulled him in for a tight hug that Scott returned after letting out a shuddering breath. I was about to let out the breath I had been holding in, when I noticed the road flare starting to slowly roll towards the gasoline with Scott and Stiles still standing in it. A scream was just about to work its way out of my throat when Lydia slammed into the two of them so all three of them landed outside the puddle. I took a step back as the gasoline went up in bright flames burning orange against the pitch black sky.

* * *

 

The sound of the bus doors being pulled open yanked me out of the uneasy sleep I had fallen into not that long ago. “What the hell are you cupcakes doing on this bus?”

“Well you see-”

“Can it, Balinski! I don’t really care. We’re leaving in ten minutes. The meet got cancelled.”

“Roger that!”

Coach Finstock rolled his eyes and stomped his way back off of the bus like he couldn’t stand the idea of staying in a tightly confined space with us any longer. He seemed to be muttering something under his breath as he did so and I couldn’t help, but be glad that I didn’t have werewolf hearing. Whatever he was saying was probably traumatizing.

“Did you see that?” Everyone in the bus turned to look at Lydia at the exact same time. “Seriously?”

“Not all of us are as awake as you are.”

“There was purple powder on his shirt where his whistle was sitting.”

Stiles sat up so fast he almost fell out of the seat he had been lying on. “Wolfsbane? Guess we know how the werewolves got into contact with wolfsbane yesterday.”

“They’ll be in contact with it again today if you don’t get that whistle away from him.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard. It’s not like he’s attached to the damn thing.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Come on, Allison. I want to get home and take a shower.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song mentioned at the beginning is Young Blood by The Naked and Famous.  
> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	6. Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek shows back up and Stiles makes a decision that might end up leaving him with more questions than answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super excited to be posting this chapter. It was one of my favorites to write. Hopefully you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Letting out a sigh, I pushed open the door to my bathroom and shut it again firmly behind me. I turned on the faucet and let the cool water run through my fingers for several minutes before cupping my hands together. I brought the small amount of water I had collected up to my face so I could scrub off the stress that had been building up over the past couple of days. Water droplets fell sluggishly down the tip of my nose into the sink below. My hands gripped tightly onto the edge of the sink for stability, but it still felt like my whole world was slowly crumbling down around me.

It had been weeks since I had gotten a good night’s sleep, despite my many different attempts to find a solution to my restless nights. Most of the pack had seen Derek fall to what was more than likely his death. Then there was the mess with the werewolves last night that almost ended with Scott and I going up in a blaze of glory. Of course, there’s also the threat of the alpha pack constantly hanging over my head and wondering whether Erica is still alive of not.

I took a deep breath in and finally looked up at the mirror in front of me. There were noticeable bags under my eyes and my hair was sticking up at crazy angles, probably from trying to sleep on a cramped little bus seat last night. I pulled my lips into a tight frown, but the mirror in front of remained completely unchanged. My eyes went wide when the version of me in the mirror smirked and ran a hand through his messy hair.

“You’re not looking so good, Stiles. We could be strong, Stiles.” I scrubbed my hands viciously at my eyes to try to get rid of the vision in front of me. “You can’t get rid of us, Stiles. You saw me where I never was and where I could not be. And yet within that very place, my face you often see.”

“Stop it, stop it, stop it. God. What is going on? Okay, okay. I’m obviously asleep. Just need to wake up. Just wake up. Wake up!”

“You can’t run away from this, Stiles.”

“Wake up!”

With a gasp I sat up in bed covered in sweat and completely tangled up in my sheets. My heart was pounding away violently inside of my chest while sweat dripped slowly down the back of my neck. I took several deep shuddering breaths in an attempt to slow down my racing heart, but the sound of a knock coming from downstairs sent it spiking back up again. I picked my phone up with shaking hands to check the time and became a little more anxious when I saw how early in the morning it was.

Despite the fact I knew it was probably a terrible idea, I slipped out of bed and started to cautiously head down the stairs. There were several more knocks on the door that seemed to be getting weaker and weaker with each knock. I turned the lock on the door and slowly opened it to reveal an extremely pale looking person.

“Oh, my God! Derek!”

* * *

 

I wiped the dried blood carefully from Derek’s side being sure to avoid the still gaping holes in his side from where the other alpha must have caught him. Derek hadn't said a word since I opened the door for him, but had let out several gasps and moans. When I finally finished cleaning up the wound, I placed a gauze pad over the area and made sure the edges were securely down. I could feel a pair of eye on me as I cleaned up the mess I had made while fixing up Derek, but refused to meet their gaze until I was done.

“We thought you were dead.” I looked back down at my hands. “Scott was a mess. He couldn't even heal properly. We had to stitch him up.”

“Stiles.”

“Obviously I’m not mad at you because it wasn't your fault.”

“Stiles.”

I looked up at Derek and gripped his hand tightly in my own when he intertwined our fingers together. “I was so worried. Scott seemed so sure that you had died and then everything went to crap. I'm so happy you're okay.”

“I'm alright. Everything's fine.”

“I wish that was true. I really, really do, but it's not.”

“You had another dream.”

“Yes. I can't remember any of it, but I woke up like I'd just run a marathon so it couldn't have been good.”

“Come here. You need to get some sleep and so do I.”

“You are aware this is my bed right?” I slid into bed and curled up against Derek’s good side with my head resting over his heart. “I think I want Deaton to do the same thing to me that he did to Isaac.”

“That doesn't-”

“I know. I just need to do something to figure out what's going on with me and this seems like the best way. I need to do this.”

“Okay. Whatever you need.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

 

“You want to do what?” Scott was staring at me with wide eyes and his mouth gaping open. “You can't-That’s not-But you can't-”

“Do you know how hard it is to stay up all day when I'm only getting two hours of sleep a night? To wake up screaming? To not even remember what made you scream like Bloody Mary? I can’t keep living like this, Scott!”

“Isn’t there something else you can do? Like a magical tea or something?”

“This isn’t Supernatural, Scott! Deaton can’t just whip out an African Dream Root and send one of you waltzing into my subconscious.”

“A what?”

My mouth dropped open in shock. “You have got to be kidding me. How are we even friends? The point is I’ve tried absolutely everything and nothing has worked. This is the only option I have left.”

“You can’t seriously let him do this!” Scott was looking right past my head at where Derek was standing directly behind me.

“Let me? Let me? I’m my own person! Derek doesn’t let me do anything.”

“I didn’t mean like that.”

“Really? What other way could you have possibly meant that?”

“I just mean…”

“Exactly. Now are you coming with the rest of us to Deaton’s or are you going to keep up this rant about me not being allowed to do this.”

“Does your dad know about this plan?”

“What are you going to tattle on me? And for your information he does in fact know that I’m planning on doing this. I’ve kind of been keeping him up at night with the whole screaming my head off thing. He’s had to hold me down a few times so I didn’t going tumbling out of bed and hurt myself.”

Scott looked down at his shoes with his big, sad puppy eyes. “Fine. If you’re sure this is the only option you have left I’ll be there for you.”

“Good. Now are you coming with us or are you going to ride that ugly motorcycle you insisted on buying this summer?”

“There’s nothing wrong with my motorcycle.”

“It’s not even an actual motorcycle. It’s more like a dirt bike.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Is too!”

“Alright. I’m going to put an end to this now.” Derek placed a hand on my shoulder and started to steer me towards his car. “We’ll meet you there Scott. Also, it’s really not a motorcycle.”

“You’re the best. Have I ever told you that?”

* * *

 

“Can we hurry this up? I have better things to do than sit around and wait for Stilinski to remember a few nightmares.” Lydia smacked Jackson upside the head and glared at him until he let out a heavy sigh. “Sorry. Now can we get this over with?”

“Of course, but there are a few things you need to be aware of Mr. Stilinski.”

“Vague and foreboding. Definitely like where this is going. What is it I need to be aware of?”

Deaton moved around the room until he was standing at the head of the newly refilled tub full of water and ice. “What I did with Mr. Lahey to bring forth his memories isn’t going to work for you. His memories were suppressed by an alpha that wasn’t his own which made the connection quite weak and easy to break.”

“That was easy to break?”

“Very. What is happening with your memories, or dreams in this case, is quite different than what happened to Mr. Lahey. It would take a powerful being to do something like this hence the different method to unlocking your mind. A much more different and dangerous method. You brought a meaningful item like I told you too?”

“Right here.” I held up the slightly bent up Deputy’s badge that my dad had given me the day he got promoted to Sheriff. “I had to hammer it out a bit, but you said it could be anything right?”

“Yes. Now for the dangerous part. Once you’re in the water you’ll be held down until your heart literally stops, then we’ll allow your subconscious the time to come to light while we wait for you to come back.”

“You’re going to drown me and then wait for me to come back to life? I know I’m pretty awesome, but I have my limits. Like coming back from the dead for instance.”

“That’s why the person holding you under will act as your anchor. They’ll keep you attach to this plane at the same time you’re exploring the other.”

“So kind of like the wolves and their shift. Probability of death included.” I glanced nervously around the room only to snap my eyes back to Deaton when I saw the look on my dad’s face. “Let’s just get this over with then. Who’s going to be holding me under?”

“The decision is entirely up to you, but I do have a suggestion if you can’t make up your mind.”

“Well I’ve trusted you so far. Let me hear it.”

“Derek.”

“What!” Scott’s head moved up so fast he almost smashed it against the glass cabinets behind him. “Why should Derek do it? Why not his dad or me?”

“Derek and Stiles have experienced similar situations in their lives that give them a deeper connection than his father or you. If Derek wasn’t here, I would be suggesting that Mr. Whittemore be the one to hold him under.”

“Good thing Derek’s here then.”

I slipped off my shoes and stared ruefully at the ice water for a few seconds before placing one foot into the freezing liquid. A spark of pain ran up my leg as soon as the cold water came into contact with my skin. A shiver rushed down my spine when I placed my next leg into the tub alongside the first. I gritted my teeth tightly together before lower the rest of my body down until my head and hands were the only things above the water.

“Can we move this along? I might freeze to death before Derek gets the chance to drown me.”

Strong hands gripped my shoulders tightly, but made no move to push my head down into the freezing water. I brought the hand that wasn’t holding my dad’s old badge up to hold onto the wrist of one of the hands on my shoulder. My hand squeezed reassuringly right before the two hands pushed my shoulders down until my head was completely submerged beneath the water.

The little air I had managed to get into my lungs quickly ran out and I opened my mouth in an attempt to take in more. Water filled my lungs making them burn and ache as the need for oxygen got greater and greater. My legs started to thrash wildly while my upper body tried to buck up to dislodge the two hands holding my body under. I tightened my hold on the badge still clutched in my right hand, but could still feel it starting to slowly slip through my fingers. Black spots started to pop up in my vision and my body began to slowly still until the world around me disappeared, including the biting chill of the water and burn in my lungs.

* * *

 

_When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to find myself standing in the middle of an empty hallway in the Sheriff’s station. Blood was splattered across the walls and a long line of it was smeared across the floor like a grotesque trail that I was supposed to follow. I slowly started to make my way down the hallway along the trail of blood until something around the corner caught my eye. I immediately came to a stop, but when nothing else moved and I couldn’t hear anything, I decided to keep following the trail around the corner. The lights above my head flickered dramatically like something out of a horror movie making me tense up at the cold feeling that ran through my body. I gulped nervously, but continued down the hallway despite every cell in my body telling me I should turn around and run as fast as I could in the opposite direction. As I approached the next turn I noticed the trail came to an abrupt stop right before an open door that had light spilling out of it._

_A wave of nausea hit me like a ton of bricks at the sight that greeted me once I made my way around the door. Several extremely gory bodies were scattered around the room and I knew that if I looked closely enough I would be able to recognize every single one of them. In the middle of all the chaos was a little boy curled in on himself with blood covering his hands. His entire body was violently shaking and his sobs were echoing loudly in the silent room. I cautiously made my way across the room so I could kneel in front of the distraught little boy._

_“Hey. It’s okay. You don’t need to be scared anymore. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”_

_Familiar whiskey colored eyes looked up at Stiles. “You can’t save us.”_

_“What are you talking about? Save us from what?”_

_“Can’t you feel it? We can’t stop it.”_

_“Feel what? Stop what?”_

_“Run.”_

_“Why?” I whipped around at the sound of something crashing out in the hallway._

_“Run.”_

_I looked down at the boy one last time before running out of the door and down the first hallway that would lead me outside. I picked up the pace when I heard something that sounded like nails scrapping against the walls right behind me. I finally reached a set of doors leading outside and pushed through them without bothering to turn to see who was following me. My breath caught in my throat when I realized I wasn’t standing in the backlot of the Sheriff’s station, but the Beacon Hills Cemetery. I easily maneuvered through the graves until I reached a familiar headstone._

_“Hey mom. I’m not really sure what I’m doing here right now. I’m supposed to be figuring things out right now, but my head seems to be some kind of maze.”_

_“This is all your fault you know?”_

_Stiles turned to look at his father with wide eyes. “I don’t-”_

_“It should have been you. This is all your fault.”_

_“I didn’t… I didn’t mean to.”_

_“It was written I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice.”_

_“What?” I scrunched my eyebrows up in confusion and turned my attention back to my mother’s grave like it would give me the answers. “Where did I hear that before? Why are you telling me this? This wasn’t the plan!”_

_“It should have been you.”_

_“Stop saying that!”_

_“Everything was your fault. She’s gone because of you. It should have been you. It’s all your fault. You only cause trouble. Death follows you.”_

_Tears were starting to run down my face, but the sadness was quickly replaced by fear when I was sent tumbling head first into the hole in the ground where my mother should have been buried. A scream started to work its way out of my throat only to be stopped at the same time my back slammed into something hard. I let out a groan and rolled over onto my stomach almost ending up with a mouth full of leaves and twigs in the process._

_After pushing myself off of the ground, I took a look around the clearing I was in and was surprise to find that it looked vaguely familiar. My eyes were starting to scan the clearing when the sound of a female’s voice came from the woods across from me. Whatever she was saying was quickly drowned out by the sound of a child yelling excitedly and running into the clearing._

_“Stiles, what have I told you about running away from me while we’re in the forest?”_

_“Not to, but I know the wolves will protect me, mama. They always protect me.”_

_“Of course they do sweetheart, but they can’t protect you from yourself. You have to be careful out here.”_

_The little boy nodded his head solemnly for a second then broke out into a bright grin. “Can I play now? Can I, mama?”_

_“Yes you may, but be careful.”_

_I watched as my mom slowly made her way into the middle of the clearing and set down a large dark brown blanket that she could sit on. The younger version of myself was happily running around the clearing, while my mom curled up with a small book in her hands. She occasionally looked up from the book to check on her child and smiled brightly every time she did. Her hair was pulled into the messy bun I always remembered her wearing and the clothes she wore were slightly torn from some DIY project she’d probably tried to do._

_My feet were starting to move me closer to her when complete silence fell over the small clearing causing both my eyes and my mom’s to snap to the direction the little boy had been playing in last. Instead of a little boy happily playing on the ground, the patch of grass was completely empty and after checking the rest of the clearing I still couldn’t find him. My mom was on her feet as quick as lightening with her face contorted into one of worry._

_“Stiles? Stiles?Innokentiy!”_

_“I’m up here.”_

_“Stiles get down from there right now.”_

_“But mama it’s-”_

_“Now Stiles!”_

_“Okay.” The little boy slowly clambered back down the tree and securely to the ground below where he was immediately pulled into a tight hug._

_“Please don’t do that to me again. You had me worried.”_

_“Sorry, mama.”_

_“It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re alright. Now, why don’t you go back to playing? No climbing trees. You’re going to give me a heart attack one day if you keep this up.”_

_“Okay!” The boy pressed a kiss to his mom’s cheek then went back to running around the clearing like a chicken with his head cut off. It looked like the stress in my mom’s shoulders was starting to melt away, so that was of course the moment the younger version of me tripped over something and went flailing to the ground. I was expecting him to land safely on the blanket my mom had spread out, but the blanket was no longer there. A large tree stump was in its place and the boy’s head slammed right onto the edge of it when he went down._

_Even from where I was standing, I could see the blood seeping from the wound on the boy’s head and dripping on the stump. My mom let out a shriek and ran to the little boy’s side with tears in her eyes. Her hands moved frantically around his small body before she cradled him close to her chest and stood up shakily. She turned her body until she was facing me and instead of looking through me like I was expecting her to, she looked me dead in the eyes._

_“You can’t stop it. You’re going to lose control just like I did.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Because you died.”_

_“I…”_

_“There’s nothing you can do, but run.”_

_“Run where?”_

_“From yourself.”_

_“How? How can I-I run from myself?”_

_“The fascination of the abomination-you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate.” She looked blankly down at the child in her arms, a look so different from the one she had worn earlier. “You’re trapped and you can’t get out. Run, run, run.”_

_“Run where? If I’m trapped where am I supposed to run! Mama, help me. Please.”_

* * *

 

“Stiles? Can you hear me?” The voice sounded distorted like it was going through water to reach my ears. “Can you squeeze my hand? Stiles.”

“Can hear you.”

“How about opening your eyes? Can you do that for me?”

I pried my eyes open with some difficultly and almost shut them again at the assault of bright light they were met with. Luckily Derek’s worried face blocked the sudden onslaught of light and I was able to blink away the black patches that had appeared. A strong hand gripped mine tightly then moved to gently cup my face. The sensation of soft skin pressing against my own made a shiver trill down my spine and to the bottom of my feet.

“How do you feel?”

“Like death warmed over.” My voice came out raspy and like I had decided to dry swallow a fist full of gravel. “How long was I out?”

“Eighteen hours.”

“What!” I sat up so fast my head started spinning and the need to throw up suddenly made itself known.

“Lie back down. Your father will be pissed if you end up passing out before he gets the chance to beret you. Melissa had to come in here and literally drag him home so he could shower and change before work.”

“Is anyone else still here?”

“Melissa employed Isaac to help her force Scott to get some sleep, but Lydia has refused to move so her and Jackson are still here.”

“She’s got that boy wrapped around her finger.”

“No more than you’ve got Derek.” Lydia’s heels clicked loudly against the floor as she crossed the room with her arms crossed over her chest. “You better have gotten whatever you needed because there’s absolutely no way you’re doing anything like that again.”

“I would hate to be the reason you get worry lines before you hit twenty.”

“Good, but you still haven’t told us how it went.”

My eyes dropped down to where my thumbs were ideally twisting around each other. “Nothing. I got absolutely nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not make up the riddle at the beginning of the chapter I just found it online: You saw me where I never was and where I could not be. And yet within that very place, my face you often see.  
> There are also two Heart of Darkness quotes in the chapter: “It was written I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice.” and “The fascination of the abomination-you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate.”   
> Next chapter will be up tomorrow.


	7. Lydia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aiden finally makes a move on Lydia.

I was just starting to wake up from the best sleep I had gotten in a month when the bed behind me dipped down and a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist. A puff of air slipped across the back of my throat as the person behind me buried their nose in my hair. I threaded my fingers through the ones gently holding me around the waist, then squeezed them reassuringly. The person behind me let out an appreciative noise and squeezed my fingers back in thanks.

“You are so much easier to cuddle with than Derek is.”

“That’s because I’m not built like a brick house the way your boyfriend is.”

“He’s pecs actually make really good pillows. They’re not too soft or too hard.”

“They’re just right?”

Stiles chuckled causing more air to blow across the back of my neck. “Exactly.”

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but why are you here Stiles and how did you get in?”

“I had a key made and do I have to have a reason for coming to see my best girl friend! My best friend who is a girl? My best friend of the female gender?”

“Shut up. It’s too early for your rambling. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! It’s just that the wolves are out frolicking through the forest and I thought it would be a good opportunity for the two of us to spend some time together. Maybe watch a movie.”

“You’re freaking out about what happened at Deaton’s aren’t you?”

“What? Of course not!” Stiles sat up with an indignant huff and ran a disgruntled hand through his already messy hair. “Why would I be freaking out about the fact I died for eighteen hours for no reason? It’s not like it means that whatever is happening to me either has nothing to do with the supernatural or that whatever supernatural thing it is, is so powerful that it can override my subconscious.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“I know. That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“I know you’re scared. I know that you’re worried that whatever this is, is going to end badly for you and leave the rest of us to pick up the pieces, but we can all handle it. That includes your father and Derek.”

“I still worry. It seems like that’s all I do now. Wonder what’s wrong with me and worry about what it might mean for everyone else.”

“Everything will work out in the end. You’ll see.”

“You’re right. Of course you’re right. You’re always right.” Stiles wrapped his arms back around me and relaxed further in the bed with my head resting on his chest. “Sorry I woke you up. It feels like we’ve had this conversation a hundred times now.”

“And I’m sure we’ll have it a hundred more until you find out what’s going on with you. It’s in your nature to be curious and worry. Even if that might annoy the hell out of me, you’re my friend and I’m going to be here for you. You need someone you can talk to that can talk some sense into you when you start to have doubts and you know I will.”

“I love you, Lyds. Not in the way I used to think I did, but I do love you.”

“Love you too. Despite the fact, it annoys Jackson to no end.”

“More like because it pisses Jackson off.”

“I would never love you just because it pisses off Jackson. It’s simply an added bonus.” I stifled my laughter against the shaking chest beneath my head. “Now what movie was it you were thinking we could watch?”

“Anything that isn’t The Notebook. I don’t know how Jackson puts up with watching it every time you guys decide to have a movie night. Watching it once was more than enough for me.”

“Ally and Noah’s relationship is a timeless tale.”

“Yes it is. Time seems to stand still while watching that movie.” I brought my open palm down hard against the middle of Stiles’s chest causing him to let out a yelp of pain and rub at the spot with a grimace. “Evil little banshee. I don’t even know why I’m friends with you.”

“You’d still be pathetically single if it wasn’t for me.”

“How could I forget? I bow down to the incredible Lydia Martin.”

“Just hand me my remotes and go get us something to eat and drink.”

“Yes my lady!” Stiles leapt out of bed and bowed deeply after handing me the two remotes. “I shall return!”

“Such a freak.”

“I heard that!”

* * *

 

The sound of a chair being pulled out across the table from me broke through the study bubble I had created for myself at the beginning of my free period. Most students at Beacon Hills High School knew better than to interrupt me when I was working, but there never failed to be at least one person every few weeks that thought they would be the exception. Of course those people always ended up regretting their actions once I completed my usual tirade that ended in their humiliation. For some reason I didn’t think this tactic would work out that well against a cocky alpha werewolf.

“I can’t imagine calculus homework takes that much of your concentration. From what I’ve heard, you’re practically a genius.”

“Your sources must not be reliable. I’m not practically anything.”

“Confidence. I like that in a woman.”

“Good to know. How’s your brother doing?”

Aiden sat up a little straighter and his face hardened around the edges. “He’s fine. Whatever happened to him really freaked him out, but he’s been doing better.”

“I’m sure you’re happy about that. Must have been difficult for you.” I boxed in the last answer on my calculus homework then placed it neatly in its designated spot in my accordion file. “Danny was really concerned about him.”

“Look, as nice as it is to know you’re concerned about my brother, there was something else that I wanted to talk to you about in private and since your friends seem to hang around you all the time I’d like to take this opportunity.”

“If you’re going to become jealous and demand that I stop seeing my friends you might as well leave now.”

“I would never do such a thing.” Aiden had on his most charming smile to go with his sugary words.

“Then I suppose you’re free to ask whatever you want and you better make it good. I’m not easy to please and have no plans to lower my standards.”

“Of course not. A girl like you only deserves the best. Would you like to go out some time? There’s this new restaurant that I’ve heard great reviews about. Not too fancy and not too casual either. Something more… intimate.”

“Pick me up at six on Thursday night. I expect to be home no later than seven-thirty and we will only be having dinner.”

“I’ll be sure to be right on time.” Aiden stood up smoothly from the chair and started to walk away from the table. “One more question. How do you feel about motorcycles?”

“I better not get helmet hair. The night will be over before it begins if that happens.”

“Perfect.”

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you have a date with that tool bag on Thursday. How are you going to put up with him for more than ten minutes without punching him in the face?”

“Don’t forget this was your idea in the first place.” I propped my feet up into Stiles’s lap and leaned further into Jackson who had been seething since he heard the news. “Let’s talk about something else. I don’t want to think about the hour and thirty minutes I agreed to spend with Aiden more than I have to.”

“Like Kira? We have yet to address what’s going on with her.”

“Well she’s not with the alpha pack. We would have seen her that night in the train station if she was and she doesn’t smell like wolf.”

“What’d you do to figure that one out Scotty? I have a feeling your usual method wouldn’t go over very well.”

“That was one time!”

“One hilarious time that I will never, ever forget.”

Isaac was looking between Scott and Stiles with a confused expression on his face. “What are you guys talking about? Why haven’t we heard this story before?”

“Because Scott thinks it’s embarrassing and there hasn’t been a perfect time to whip that story out. I’m saving it for something really special or when I’m really pissed at him.”

“Come on. You can’t tease us like that. We want to hear the story.”

“Another time. We seriously need to talk about Kira.”

“Are you sure she’s something supernatural?” Stiles turned his head so he could level Derek with a scathing glare. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

“You better not have. You know what happened the last time you guys questioned my judgement. Just in case you forgot though, I feel obligated to point out that it went very, very poorly.”

“Alright, so what do you think she is?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why do you think she’s something supernatural?”

“Just a feeling that I have. I mean she’s perfectly nice so she might not be a baddie, but I still think we need to figure out what she is. Maybe she’s like Deaton! I mean Deaton doesn’t have a different smell to you werewolves right?”

“Yes, but emissaries typically follow with packs and we know the alpha pack doesn’t have an emissary.”

“So maybe she’s something else. I mean Jackson was a giant lizard monster. There have to be other things out there besides werewolves and emissaries and kanimas.”

I perked up excitedly when the perfect idea struck me. “I know exactly what we need to do.”

“I’m not sure whether I’m going to like this idea or not.”

“Oh, I think you’re going to enjoy this one. We’ll need to borrow your boyfriend’s loft for it.”

“Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”

“Black lights and glow in the dark body paint sound good to you?”

“Anything to get my boyfriend shirtless sounds fantastic.”

“I can get everything we need.”

Derek let out a small growl that grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. “What are you two talking about? Why would you need black lights and glow in the dark body paint?”

“Halloween is next week. What better excuse to get to know the new girl than to invite her to a party? That way you’ll also be here to help figure out what she is. Just because Scott, Jackson, Boyd, and Isaac can’t pick up something in her scent doesn’t mean you can’t.”

“Fine, but I’m not cleaning up any of the mess you make.”

“Deal.”

* * *

 

Allison set her lunch down next to mine with a bright smile on her face and a twirl of her floral skirt. She set her stuff down in the chair next to her, then took the seat next to me. She opened her water bottle in silence and took several sips out of it before placing the cap back on and starting in on her sandwich.

“The boys are all out practicing lacrosse. Apparently, waking up early to run five miles wasn’t enough for them today.”

“How did they manage to talk Stiles into that one? He looked ready to pass out during English this morning.”

“No idea. Scott probably dragged him out there before he could put up too much of a fuss about it. He’s probably on the phone with his dad or Derek.”

“Or he’s catching up on his sleep. He nearly fell asleep while we were working on our worksheet today.”

“Poor thing.” Allison’s face morphed into her sad princess face that probably made all the forest creatures want to come to her aid to make her feel better. “So how are you feeling about your date tonight? I know we talked about it yesterday, but I can’t imagine you felt comfortable talking about it in front of… you know.”

“I don’t know. He’s taking me to some new place in town so if all else fails I’ll at least have the chance to decide whether the place is worth revisiting later. I know I said this would be a fun challenge for me when Stiles first brought up the idea, but now I’m not so sure.”

“You know you don’t have to do this. We would all understand if you didn’t want to.”

I shook my head as a way to say no to Allison and clear my head at the same time. “This is important and I want to do it. I just have a bad feeling about it. Although, I’ve been having a lot of bad feelings lately.”

“Do you think it has something to do with you being a banshee? They’re supposed to sense death and as part of the alpha pack I’m sure Aiden’s had experience with that.”

“That’s the nice way of putting it. I just wish I knew more about how being a banshee works. I’ve read everything that your family had on them in their bestiary a hundred times and there’s nothing useful. There’s nothing on how to control or why it happens.”

“I know you’re probably not going to like this, but have you tried talking to Peter about it? He had a bestiary on his laptop that gave us more in-depth information on the kanima. He might have something on banshees.”

“As much as I hate talking to Peter, you do have a point.”

“If you asked Derek, he would probably do it for you.”

“Maybe I’ll do that. Everything is just so chaotic right now and he also has Stiles to worry about. Plus Cora being back probably threw him through a loop and Erica is still missing.”

“I’m sure Derek would understand since he’s the alpha and he doesn’t like us talking to Peter anyways. He would probably prefer you asking him to do it for you.”

“I know.” I stabbed my fork listlessly into my salad just to have something to do while I got my thoughts together. “A part of me feels like this is something I should figure out on my own. Having Derek ask Peter for me doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You’re Lydia Martin. That’s what you do right? You’ve got everything figured out. You’ll figure this out to.”

“I hope so because if I don’t other people might get hurt.”

“You’ve already saved people and you don’t even know how your powers work yet.”

“Right… So what should I wear tonight? He’s picking me up on his motorcycle so all my skirts and dresses are out which puts a real damper on my wardrobe options.”

“Guys never take those things into consideration do they?”

“Unappreciative assholes. All of them. Sometimes I swear they’re not even worth the trouble.”

* * *

 

A sharp knock sounded on my door once, twice, three times at exactly six pm. The black leather jacket Allison had lent me was zipped securely around my upper body and my jeans were just the right amount of too tight. My mom had already left to get plastered for the evening so making a grand entrance by walking down the stairs was out. I checked my hair and makeup one last time in the mirror next to the door before tugging it open with a straight face.

“Aiden.”

“Lydia. You look good.” Aiden had a smirk on his face that screamed bad boy used to getting what he wanted whenever he wanted. “Ready to go?”

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly and turned to lock the door behind me. “How far away is this place?”

“Depends on how fast we go.”

“Well I wouldn’t go breaking the speed limit if I were you. The Sheriff’s son is one of my best friends. His dad wouldn’t approve of a date of mine breaking the law.”

“Right.” The smirk on Aiden’s face slipped a little, but he quickly had it back up when he handed me a helmet and kicked the motorcycle to life. “Hold on tight. Wouldn’t want you falling off the back.”

I barely had time to secure the helmet on my head and wrap my arms around Aiden’s waist before he was speeding down the street. My arms tightened a fraction when Aiden gunned it around a sharp turn with the practiced ease of someone who had been riding for years. A part of my mind couldn’t help, but think that his alpha reflexes also had a little something to do with being able to ride the motorcycle the way he was now.

* * *

 

The beginning of the date went smoothly enough. Aiden asked plenty of typical first date questions and easily answered any of my own. When the waiter came around to take our orders, Aiden was quick to order not only for himself, but for me as well. His charming smile seemed to be a permanent fixture to his face even when he was telling an embarrassing story about himself. To any other girl it would probably be the ideal first date experience, but with every casual childhood story and random anecdote the feeling of dread in my stomach grew.

Aiden was right in the middle of telling me about the time he and his brother decided it would be a good idea to flush dominoes down the toilet, when the door to the restaurant opened to reveal Jackson and his parents. I could feel the blood draining from my face at the sight of the Whittemore family casually strolling up to the hostess’ stand. Jackson’s eyes went wide upon realizing that Aiden and I were only sitting a few feet away from where he stood. My eyes flicked back to Aiden who was looking at me with a curious expression like he didn’t already know that Jackson was behind him.

I grabbed my phone from its place on the table and gave Aiden a dazzlingly smile I had perfected long ago. “You don’t mind if I text my mom do you? I know sometimes she gets lonely while I’m out with my friends.”

“Of course. Wouldn’t want your mother to resent me before she even got to know me.”

“Planning ahead are you?”

“We’ll not to sound cocky, but I thought this date was going pretty well. A second date seemed inevitable.”

“Well what some people call cocky, I would consider confidence.” My lips morphed into a sultry smile that I normally wore whenever I wanted Jackson to do something for me.

I picked up my phone and quickly began to type out a message with my eyes directed at my screen, but at an angle where they were still able to see Aiden clearly. Aiden’s face remained perfectly neutral for the seconds it took me to type out the message and press send. I placed my phone gently back down on the table and returned to eating my meal like nothing had happened. I could tell that Aiden was slightly suspicious by the way I was acting and seemed overly curious when my phone vibrated against the wood table.

“It seems as though you’re already in my mother’s good graces. Now all you have to do is tell her you think my dad was a scumbag and she’ll never have a bad thing to say about you.”

“Definitely getting off on the right foot then.”

“I would say so. You know my mom-”

“Lydia.” My head snapped to the side at the sound of Jackson snarling out my name. “I see it didn’t take you long to move on. I guess that shouldn’t surprise me.”

“I’m trying to have a nice dinner and you’re here with your parents. There’s no need to make a scene.”

“Well Lydia Martin always gets what Lydia Martin wants doesn’t she? I would hate to not bend to your will like every other idiot out there. What boyfriend number is this again?”

“I think you should go back to your table before your mommy and daddy realize you’re gone.” Aiden had pushed himself out of his chair and was now standing chest to chest with Jackson. “And I wouldn’t talk to Lydia that way again if I were you.”

“What are you going to do about it? You don’t have your brother here to back you up. I’m surprised you can even function without him. From what he tells Danny, you can barely take care of yourself without him there.”

I stood up quickly before the two of them could start pulling punches in the middle of a restaurant at dinnertime. “We should get going Aiden. It’s nearly seven-thirty anyways.”

“If that’s what you want. Let me just take care of the check, then we can leave.”

* * *

 

“I’m sorry about the way Jackson acted. I’m sure that wasn’t what you were thinking when you imagined how this date would go.”

“It did put a damper on things, but there is a bright side to what happened.”

“And what would that be?”

“Now you have to go on a second date with me. You know, so you can really tell if the night actually was a complete disaster.”

“I suppose you do deserve the chance to have a redo since it was my ex-boyfriend that spoiled the evening. It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t let you have one.”

“Well who would I be to disagree with you?” Aiden slowed started heading back towards his motorcycle. “I’ll be sure to come up with something that will really knock you off your feet for our second date. Something that won’t end with your ex-boyfriend ruining the whole thing.”

“Good luck with that. I’m not easy to impress.”

I unlocked the front door and stepped into my house without bothering to say so much as a goodbye to Aiden. The sound of his motorcycle revving then taking off down the street followed soon after I closed the door. I let out a sigh and let my head fall back against the door for a second before pulling myself together and heading up the stairs for a well-deserved bubble bath. While the water was busy warming up, I pulled my phone out of my pocket with a small smile and sat on the edge of the tub.

**Lydia**

**Thank you.**

**Jackson**

**It was my pleasure.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	8. Scott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To get information the pack throws a Halloween party with a surprise ending.

“Do I have to be the one that asks her?” I looked desperately around the room for someone to help me out, but no one looked willing. “Shouldn’t one of the girls do it? She might think I’m trying to ask her out if I’m the one that does it.”

“Lydia’s too terrifying and Allison has never seen her before. It would be weird for her to ask Kira to come to a party out of the blue.”

“Why don’t you do it? You’re the one who’s friends with her!”

Stiles rolled his eyes and leaned further back into Derek with an exasperated look on his face. “But I’m not the one with the puppy eyes. She’ll take one look into those big, brown eyes and say yes before she even knows what’s going on.”

“Can’t you be with me when I ask her?”

“What do you want me to hold your hand? That might have been cute when we were younger, but we’re both big boys now and you know what? I think you can handle this on your own. I believe in you.”

“I hate you.”

“Please. You could never hate me. I’m like your brother.”

“I could too. Please talk to her with me.”

“Man up, Scott.” Cora had spent most of the time we had been here looking extremely bored and desperate to be anywhere, but here. “She’s not going to bite you or instantly fall in love with you and your crooked jaw like Allison did.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my jaw.”

“Sure there isn’t. Are we done with this conversation yet or are you still feeling insecure about your ability to have a two minute conversation with a woman?”

“Hey! I can speak to women.”

“Then why are you complaining about inviting this girl to the party you’re having at my brother’s loft? It’s not that difficult.”

“I just don’t understand why I have to be the one to do it.”

Cora rolled her eyes and leaned down to pick up a book off of the table. “How about because your friends and pack members asked you to? It’s not like they’re asking you to chop off your testicles.”

“Cora.”

“Derek.”

“Let’s not talk about chopped off testicles.” Derek’s face was pulled into a tight expression that I’d only ever seen him get when Stiles was being particularly sarcastic or stubborn. “Scott’s going to invite Kira to the party. Now talk about something else.”

“Like what? Your sunny personality?”

“Shut up, Cora.”

“How mature of you, Derek. I can see how you became an alpha.”

“Well technically Derek became an alpha by murdering your uncle.” An awkward silence fell over the room at Stiles’s statement. “That definitely sounded better in my head. Let’s just forget I said that.”

* * *

 

School on Monday morning started normal enough. I woke up early for cross country practice, went to my first two classes, and met up with Stiles, Lydia, and Isaac right before history. By the time I met up with the three, Stiles and Isaac were sniping at each other like normal while Lydia was shaking her head at the two like she didn’t know why she bothered to put up with them. We were just taking our seats when Kira walked in and Stiles sent me a significant look that I chose to ignore.

Five minutes into class I started to regret that decision when my eyes kept sliding over to where Kira was sitting instead of staying focused on the board. I tried my best to pay attention to what Mr. Yukimura was saying about some war I hadn’t heard the name of, but I was completely hopeless. Luckily Kira was completely oblivious to my staring, but the same couldn’t be said for my friends. As soon as the bell rang at the end of class, all three of them were looking at me expectantly while I slowly packed away my stuff.

“Scott would you just get it over with? You’re acting like Derek and by that I mean like you’re incapable of handling any kind of simple social interaction.” Stiles clapped me on the shoulder in reassurance then pushed me in Kira’s direction. “Good luck, buddy!”

“Alright, alright.” I stepped nervously into the space next to Kira and cleared my throat to get her attention. “Hi. I’m Scott.”

“Co-captain of the lacrosse team. I’ve heard a bit about you.”

“Hopefully nothing too terrible.”

Kira smiled shyly and shook her head. “Everyone seems to think you’re some kind of superstar. Apparently, you tore through a goalie’s crosse one time to score a goal.”

“That was a complete accident. I’m pretty sure there was something wrong with his strings.”

“I kind of figured. So was there something you wanted?”

“Oh, right. There’s going to be a huge party on Halloween night at a friend of mine’s loft. The theme’s black out so they’re doing black lights and body paint. You should come. Get to know a few people and if it helps Stiles is going to be there. It’s his boyfriend’s loft after all.”

“His boyfriend has a loft?” Kira’s eyes were wide and innocent looking. “How old is his boyfriend?”

“I think he’s twenty-four, but I’m not really sure. We don’t really get along that well.”

“Wow. I think my mom would kill me if I told her I was dating a twenty-four year old. She’s kind of protective of me.”

“Guess that means you won’t be coming to the party then?”

Kira glanced over to where her dad was setting up for his next class. “No. I’ll be there. I guess I should wear something I don’t mind getting paint on?”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

“Great. I can’t wait. Stiles talks about you guys a lot.”

“Stiles talks a lot in general.” The two of us laughed lightly until the sound of the warning bell going off drowned us out. “We should probably get going. Getting detention because of me would probably be a bad way to start off our friendship.”

“Probably. It was nice to meet you Scott.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

* * *

 

“So what did the lovely Kira have to say to you?” Stiles was dividing his attention between an open book on the table, a ham sandwich, and the conversation he was trying to have with me. “You did ask her to come to the party right? Lydia might actually kill you if you didn’t.”

“Yes I asked her and she said she was going to be there.”

“Excellent. I still don’t understand why you were so nervous about inviting her. She’s probably the nicest person I’ve even met besides Danny. She’s like sunshine and rainbows and puppy dogs all rolled up in a warm, fuzzy blanket.”

“What does that even mean?”

“The point I was trying to make is that Kira is a perfectly nice person and I want to know why you were so nervous to ask her to come to the party.”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s because she has this weird kind of energy around her. It’s hard to explain.”

Stiles looked up from his book so quickly his neck cracked and he almost choked on the bite of his sandwich he had just taken. “What do you mean energy?”

“I don’t know. Kind of like a… What’s the word for when someone has a kind of energy around them?”

“An aura?”

“Yes that. She just kind of has an aura around her that’s kind of unnerving.”

“Like what kind of an aura?”

“I don’t know Stiles!” I tapped my finger mindlessly on the table as I tried to pinpoint exactly what it was about Kira that made my wolf so agitated. “It’s kind of like that feeling right before a thunderstorm.”

“So kind of an electrical feeling?”

“Yeah. I think that’s the best way I could describe it. She’s got an electrical feeling around her.”

“Well that certainly is helpful. Now I at least have something to go on and Derek might actually know what you’re talking about. Then again when have we ever been that lucky? She’s probably some sort of super rare mythological creature that nobody’s ever heard of.”

“Why are you so sure she’s a supernatural creature? I thought you guys got a long really well. She told me you’ve talked about all of us to her.”

“You’re a supernatural creature and I like you just fine. Plus my boyfriend’s a supernatural creature so it’s not like I care that she’s a supernatural creature. I just want to know what she is. You know I hate not knowing things.”

“I get that, but why are you so sure that she is one?”

Stiles’s face scrunched up like he was trying to remember something then his entire face went flat. “Just a feeling. Don’t you have a date with Allison tonight? You should probably go home and change.”

“Right. I almost forgot. Are you doing anything with Derek tonight? I know your dad has the night shift and you’ve been spending some nights at Derek’s place when he’s gone.”

“No plans tonight. Maybe I’ll do some homework and play videogames. Something simple to take my mind off of things for the night.”

“Maybe you should go talk to my mom about this not sleeping thing. She could probably help.”

“You know I hate going to the hospital unless I absolutely have to. If it gets that bad then I promise to go talk to your mom about it. Okay?”

“Alright.” I picked my bag up off of the floor and started to head toward the door despite the tingling sensation on the back of my neck telling me not to. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Stiles.”

“Bye!”

* * *

 

Lydia was marching up and down the loft directing everyone in her usual bossy voice that almost made me terrified for my life. Derek and Cora had disappeared almost as soon as everyone had shown up at the loft to go get candy for any trick-or-treater that might come by which meant they got to miss all of Lydia’s bossing. Stiles, Allison, and Danny were also lucky enough to get off with setting up the painting stations and putting out refreshments. Jackson, Boyd, Isaac, and I were the ones tasked with moving around all the furniture and placing the black lights. This of course meant the four of us were the one’s getting yelled at almost constantly.

“Don’t put the table there! Do you want someone to scratch it or get paint on it? I did not spend all that time decorating the loft for some wasted teenager to ruin my hard work. Now move it to Isaac’s room.”

“Fine.” Jackson gritted his teeth and picked up one end of the time while I picked up the other end. “I’m starting to think that Danny and Stiles have the right idea.”

“About being human? Didn’t you beg Derek to turn you into a werewolf?”

“I meant about dating guys.”

“Oh!” I scrunched my eyebrows up in confusion and set my side of the table down. “Why?”

“Do you think Ethan or Derek care if the table gets a little scratched up? Do you think either of them want to watch The Notebook for every movie night?”

“No. I guess you kind of have a point.”

“Let’s just hurry up, McCall. Lydia will throw a fit if we take too long to move her precious table.”

I followed Jackson back into the living room where a DJ was setting up right in front of the large wall of windows that Peter was always making comments about. All of the painting stations were already set up and everyone else was standing around in the now empty living room waiting for the first of the partygoers to arrive. Lydia and Stiles were talking quietly to each other with their devious planning faces on that never boded well for anyone else around them.

I was so distracted trying to figure out what Lydia and Stiles were up to that I didn’t notice Allison coming to stand next to me until she spoke. “Scott.”

“Um what?”

“I asked-” Allison reached down to pull off her shirt then held out a tube of bright pink paint to me. “if you were going to help me or if I have to do this by myself?”

“Yes I can help. Definitely can do that.”

Allison smiled cheekily and pressed the tube of paint into my hand until my fingers finally wrapped around it. I carefully painted huge swirls along Allison’s stomach and back before moving up to her arms with the bright pink paint. When I finished her arms I moved to her face, I carefully outlined her brow bone then made a swirl at the end on her temple. I did the same thing underneath her eyelid then outlined along her lips with a steady hand.

“Hopefully that looks alright. I’m not really an artist.”

“Not too bad Scott.” Lydia was inspecting Allison with a critical eye. “You should go help Boyd with his paint.”

“What about you?”

“You think I’m going to put that stuff on my face? Absolutely not.”

“But wasn’t the black light and body paint your idea?”

“Of course it was but that doesn’t mean I have to put that stuff on my body. Do you have any idea what those paints can do to your complexion? I’m not going to risk getting a zit just so we can figure out what kind of supernatural creature Kira is. Now go help Boyd out.”

* * *

 

The party had been going on for over an hour before Kira finally showed up at the loft looking a mixture of nervous and excited. I waved at her from my spot on the dance floor with Allison and received a small wave in return. Allison looked curiously over in the direction I had waved then followed suit before motioning for Kira to move towards the far side of the room where the others were standing. As she moved through the crowd, the space around Kira seemed to glow and shift around with a sort of orange-yellow light.

As soon as we were in range of the group, Stiles turned around with a bright smile and screamed Kira’s name over the sound of the music. “I’m so glad you could make it! You look terrific. Do you want some paint? I totally saved some for you!”

“It’s good to see you Stiles. I think I’ll pass on the body paint though. You’ve got enough on for the two of us.”

Stiles shrugged his blue and green painted shoulder then pressed his similarly colored lips to Kira’s cheek. “I’m not even ashamed. Do you have any idea how long all of this took to do? I had to sit still for longer than I have my entire life. It was pure torture.”

“I can imagine how difficult it must have been for you.”

“Finally! Somebody who understands my pain and doesn’t mock me for it. Der, you could learn a thing or two from Kira. Which remind me. Kira this is my boyfriend, Derek. Derek this is Kira.”

“It’s nice to meet you Kira. Stiles has told me a lot about you.”

Kira shook the hand Derek had offered to her with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you too. It’s nice of you to let them throw a party at your loft.”

“Well Stiles would have bothered me until I let them do it anyways. I saved myself a headache by agreeing to it.”

“Hey! That is a blatant lie and you know it. You think I’m a pleasure all the time.”

“Sure.”

Stiles slammed his fist into Derek’s shoulder playfully and rolled his eyes. “Don’t even try to deny it. You like it when I talk incessantly. Kira! Would you like something to drink? I think someone already managed to spike most of the stuff we already have sitting out, but I happen to have an in with the owner of this place so I can get you the non-alcoholic stuff.”

“That would be great.”

“Awesome! Just come this way. The kitchen is that way.” Stiles took a hold of Kira’s hand and started to weave his way through the crowd.

Once the two disappeared into the kitchen I turned to look at Derek. “So? What is she?”

“She’s a kitsune.”

“A what?”

“A kitsune. She’s a fox.”

“So she’s a shifter like us.”

“No. Kitsune aren’t shifters. They normally hold power over some kind of element or force.”

“Like lightening.”

Derek raised his eyebrows and glanced towards the kitchen. “Not lightening, but electricity yes. You think she has control over electricity?”

“I think so. Whenever I’m around her she has this kind of aura around her that reminds me of that feeling outside right before a storm.”

“You should trust your instincts then.”

“So is she dangerous?” Boyd’s voice could easily be heard over the loud bass coming from the speakers.

“No. Most of the time kitsune don’t come into their powers until they’re older. She might not even know she’s a kitsune yet and on top of that, kitsune are typically peaceful creatures. They like to stay out supernatural problems.”

“Why did they come here then?”

“I don’t know.”

* * *

 

By the time midnight rolled around the party was still in full swing and didn’t seem to be making any move towards slowing down. I had spent most of my time either dancing with Allison or talking to one of the pack. Allison was currently dancing with Lydia and Kira on the dance floor while everyone else had disappeared about thirty minutes ago to who knows where with the exception of Stiles and Derek who were whispering quietly to each other. My skin was starting to feel warm and sticky so I took one last look around to make sure no one would notice me slipping out on to the small balcony.

The cool autumn air felt wonderful against my sweat slicked skin and the fresh air was a relief to my previously overloaded senses. I let my hand trail ideally over the railing while I looked out at the empty street that had probably been full of children a few hours before. From where I stood, I could see where candy wrappers from overeager children had been dropped on the ground. My gaze was sliding lazily down the street when the flickering of the one of the streetlamps caught my attention.

I tilted my head curiously at the lamp and was about to go back to looking around when the lamp flickered once again. Underneath the flickering lamp was a black figure with a silver mask I had never seen before on. I glanced down at my phone to check the time once more to make sure it really was as late as I thought it was. Nine past twelve was displayed brightly on my phone which seemed a bit late for someone to be wandering around on the streets in a costume. My eyes lifted back up so I could check on the masked person once more, but the figure was gone.

With a sigh I scrubbed my hands over my eyes and turned to make my way back inside Derek’s loft only to find the way blocked. The masked man was now standing in front of me with piercing yellow eyes and a sword at his side. The mask was terrifying up close. The nose was scrunched up along with the eyebrows so the mask had an angry look to it. What stood out the most was the large mouth with huge, sharp teeth bared in a threatening way. I tried to take a step back from the person, but my back collided with the end of the balcony before I got far.

The masked person slowly stepped forward until their chest was inches away from my own. My breathing started to pick up when the hand not holding the sword started to move towards my face until it was resting against my cheek. A rush of cold flooded through my body and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t seem to move away from them.

Before I could understand what was happening to me, the person stepped back from me then disappeared into thin air like it had never been there at all. My hand searched desperately for the railing next to me, but my knees were giving way before I could find it. A shiver ran through my body causing me to jerk listlessly on the ground and grip uselessly at the concrete floor. I tried my hardest to call out for someone to help me, but my vocal chords seemed to be just as frozen as the rest of my body now was. My eyes blinked sluggishly several times in an attempt to fight off the growing darkness starting in around the edges of my vision. After several more blinks however, the darkness took over completely as my body shivered one last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	9. Derek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek gets first hand experience with the thing that attacked Scott and Kali makes an appearance.

Stiles was pacing the room nervously and biting his nails while he watched Scott’s perfectly still form lying on the couch. It hadn’t taken Stiles long to notice that Scott had disappeared from the party last night and decide that he should go looking for him. Five minute later Stiles had shown back up with a pale face, shaking hands, and a distant look in his eyes. Without thinking I let out a loud roar that sent the remaining partygoers scrambling to get out the door as quickly as possible.

I then turned to Stiles who simply motioned for me to head out to the balcony with a still pale, shaking hand. Scott was resting on his back with his eyes shut like he had decided it would be a good idea to take a nap out in the cold. Upon closer inspection, I could see that his body was trembling violently and the tips of his fingers were starting to turn a vibrant shade of blue. I quickly picked Scott up, brought him inside, and set him on the couch where Stiles immediately started to fuss over him. Besides wrapping Scott up with blankets, Stiles had nothing else he could do hence what had turned into endless hours of pacing.

“Stiles, relax. He’s going to be fine. His heart rate is picking back up and he’s starting to warm up. He’ll probably wake up soon. Just sit down.”

“Sit down? You want me to sit down! My best friend is unconscious on your couch for a reason we don’t even know and you think I can just sit down and relax? Have you met me?”

“Just-please.”

Stiles let out a loud sigh, but flopped down onto the other couch anyways. “What in the world is going on? What could have possibly done that to him without any of the rest of you even noticing? I just…”

“I know, but we’ll figure it out.”

“Great! Another thing to add to our ever growing list of crap we don’t know about. That’s just freaking prefect.”

“Relax. It’s not helping you any to freak out. You’re going to have a panic attack if you keep that up. Just breathe.”

“Since when are you the logical and sensible one? God!” Stiles rubbed his hands vigorously over his face then let out a heavy sigh. “I need sleep. I’m pretty sure I’m five seconds away from passing out right here.”

“Then go get some rest. I’ll stay up and keep an eye on Scott.”

“No, I’ll wait up too. Even if I did lie down I would probably end up tossing and turning the entire time instead of sleeping.”

“Stiles you need to get more sleep. It’s not healthy.”

“I am well aware of that Derek, but I can’t do any more than I already am. I’ve tried everything and nothing is working.”

I crossed the room and took a seat next to Stiles who immediately curled up against my side with his head on my shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. Have you thought about going to see someone about it?”

“Lydia thinks I should and I know I probably should, but I’m terrified of what they might have to say. Of what they might find.”

My lips pulled down into a frown and I tried to think of something that would help to ease Stiles’s mind, but nothing seemed right. Instead of saying something, I tightened my grip around Stiles so our sides were pressed firmly against each other. Stiles rubbed a soothing hand over my chest until I loosened up my grip enough for Stiles to turn and face me. Sighing I leaned my head forward until it was resting gently against Stiles’s own and threaded my fingers through his.

“Why can’t things be like this? Simple and easy without all that other crap to get in the way.”

“That’s not how life works Stiles.”

“Believe me. I’m well aware of that.”

A loud groan came from the couch. “S’iles?”

“Scott!” Stiles was up so fast I almost didn’t have time to catch him when he tripped over his own feet in his haste to get to Scott. “How are you feeling? You’re not too cold are you? Do you need anything? Water? More blankets?”

“I’m fine. My head hurts a little. What happened?”

“We were kind of hoping you could tell us that. I found you passed out on the balcony and you were freezing cold. Your fingers were blue!”

Scott’s eyes went wide as he sat up quickly. “Everyone is okay right? It didn’t attack anybody else?”

“What didn’t attack anybody else?”

“The masked thing with the glowing yellow eyes.”

“Oh, shit.”

* * *

 

“How are things with you and Stiles? Inquiring minds want to know.”

“No, you want to know.”

Peter placed a hand over his chest and let his jaw drop with a gasp. “That’s not very kind of you nephew. Aren’t I allowed to take an interest in your life?”

“No.”

“Well if that’s the attitude you have with Cora it’s no wonder it’s taking the two of you so long to reconnect again. They say that communication is key to any healthy relationship.”

“Shut up.” I grabbed a box of cherry Pop-Tarts off the shelf and quickly headed for the checkout. “You know I don’t remember asking you to come to the store with me. Don’t you have something else you could be doing?”

“I wanted to spend time with you. Catch up. It’s been so long since we’ve had the chance to just sit down and have a conversation.”

“Did you ever consider that the reason we haven’t is because I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Such terrible manners. I can’t imagine where you picked those up.”

“Can’t imagine.” I placed the last of the groceries onto the conveyor belt and tried my best to ignore Peter’s presence beside me.

“So how are things going with the alpha pack?”

“Shut up. We are not talking about this here.”

“Well what else is there to talk about? You’ve already banned everything else.”

“If I agree to talk later, will you go away and let me finish my grocery shopping in peace?”

“Well… I suppose I could do that. There are other things I have to do today. People to see and all that.”

“Go away, Peter.”

“Horrid manners.”

With a sigh I picked up the bags the clerk had just finished packing up and hightailed it back to my car just in case Peter was still lurking around somewhere. Once the groceries were placed securely in the backseat, I took my place behind the wheel and started on my way back towards the loft. While my eyes stayed trained on the empty road in front of me, my mind had wondered off like it was so prone to doing recently.

Things had been quiet since Scott was attacked by the masked man on Halloween and the backwards five that was now branded into Scott’s skin seemed to be nothing more than a harmless tattoo. Cora and I had finally managed to have a conversation that didn’t contain any awkward pauses two days after the attack on Scott. The rest of the pack were doing well in school, despite the fact the twins were still roaming the halls. Every bone in my body was telling me that this was the calm before the impending storm that would no doubt end horrifically and it might actually be the calm if it weren’t for Stiles.

Despite his best efforts to keep it from me, I could tell how much Stiles was starting to struggle with the not sleeping problem. The first few times Stiles spent the night he’d been able to sleep through the night with no problem, but now things were different. He would end up screaming himself awake and clawing desperately at his own skin like he was trying to dig something out. This would have been enough to worry me if that was all that was actually going on with Stiles. Just the other day Stiles had been in the middle of reading a book for English class when his eyes went wide and his hands started to shake. It took ten minutes to calm him down enough that he could actually tell me why he had freaked out in the first place. It took another ten minutes after that for Stiles to be able to slowly read the words off the page in a shaky voice.

I pulled my car to a stop outside my apartment building and let out a frustrated noise at the same time I slammed my palm against my steering wheel. All the frustration drained from my body as I slummed back into my seat with a heavy sigh. I took a deep breath and straightened up in my seat before opening my door and stepping out of the car. With a steady hand I reached into the backseat for my groceries, then locked the car after bumping the door shut with my knee.

Just as I was turning around, a hand covered in a black glove grabbed a hold of the sides of my face. A pair of piercing yellow eyes were staring at me from behind a silver mask that must have been the same one Scott had seen before he passed out. A flood of cold ran through my body causing my limbs to go completely rigid. The bags in my hand fell to the ground with a loud banging sound that reverberated through the small parking garage. My knees hit the ground hard and I could feel a tingling behind my ear where Scott had been branded with the backwards five. The masked thing pulled back without a word then disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

Just as the rest of my body was starting to fall to the ground, a panicked voice screaming my name and shoes pounded against the pavement reached my ears. A gentle pair of hands cupped my face and stroked my cheeks lightly. The panicked voice was still coming from above me, but no matter how much I tried I couldn’t get my eyes to open back up and the darkness took over.

* * *

 

“It has to be the same thing that got you. He has the exact same mark behind his ear that you do.”

“So we’re looking for something that can easily incapacitate an alpha.”

“Well when you put it like that, it sounds so much better.”

“Do you think it’s the alpha pack? It could be some kind of test.”

“Why would the alpha pack use whatever that thing is to attack a beta and then an alpha.”

“Maybe it was supposed to get Derek the first time, but it couldn’t so it just went with me instead.”

“I don’t think this is the alpha pack’s doing. Ethan has the same mark behind his ear. I saw it yesterday and when I asked about it he gave me this vague non-answer about getting a tattoo.”

“How comforting. At least we’re not the only ones getting attacked for once. Does Deaton have any idea what these things might be?”

“No and he doesn’t know what the mark means either.”

“What I want to know is why it didn’t kill Scott or Derek or even Ethan. It easily knocked them all unconscious and then just left them there with a little tattoo behind the ear. Why wouldn’t it kill them while it had the chance?”

“Maybe it’s not supposed do the killing. It could do something else.”

“Like what?”

“Well this thing has only gone after werewolves right? They leave a mark and then they just vanish. What if it’s a hunter controlling them? The thing marks the werewolves as werewolves and then the hunter kills everyone with a mark.”

“My dad is the only hunter in town and he’s made sure to make it clear to all other hunters that this town is off limits. Still I could ask him if he’s ever heard of something like this. It might not be in the bestiary, but he might have heard stories about this.”

“Unless someone else has a better idea that seems like as good a place as any to start.”

“I’ll go now then.”

“You should take Scott and Lydia with you.”

“You should come with us. You have more experience with this than Allison, Scott, and I do.”

“No. I’m staying here until Derek wakes up. If you need anything from me then you can text or call. Be careful.”

“We will.”

* * *

 

As soon as the loft door closed, a hand had slipped into my own and squeezed firmly before loosening up some. The hand stayed there the entire time I was struggle to force my body to catch up with my mind and open my eyes. When I finally did manage to open my eyes I was expecting to be assaulted by a bright light, but instead a pair of worried amber eyes were hovering above me.

“You’re finally awake.”

“I’ve been awake. Just couldn’t get my eyes to open. The rest of the pack?”

“Allison, Scott, and Lydia went to talk to her dad to see if he knew anything about these masked things. Boyd and Jackson went home so their parents don’t start asking questions. Danny is on a date with Ethan. Your sister and Isaac are around here somewhere, but I don’t even want to know what they might be up to. Peter came by earlier then left after he found out what happened. I don’t particularly care where he went.”

“I only understood half of what you just said.”

Stiles rolled his eyes fondly then ran a comforting hand through my hair. “How do you feel?”

“I’ve got a headache, but other than that I feel fine.”

“Good. Did you get a look at it?”

“Yes and it looks exactly like Scott said it did. Strange silver mask, wore all black, bright yellow eyes.”

“Well at least we know he’s not imagining things.”

“There is one thing.”

“What?”

“After it finished doing whatever it was doing to me, it just disappeared.”

“Disappeared!” Stiles’s face was twisted into what seemed to be a look of disbelief and horror mixed together. “Like just vanished into thin air disappeared? Like disapperated disappeared?”

“Like puff of black smoke disappeared.”

“Fantastic. So not only can it easily take down werewolves, it can also appear and disappear at will.”

“There is one good thing that came out of all of this.”

“Really? And what in the world would that be?”

“I got out of talking to Peter.” I tried my best to smile at Stiles, but I’m sure it came out as more of a pained grimace.

“Your attempts at humor are pathetic. I mean really just sad. Sad, sad, sad.”

“Is that why you’re smiling?”

“Shut up.”

* * *

 

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

Cora nodded and kicked aimlessly at the small rocks on the sidewalk. “Stiles took good care of you. He was really freaked out when he found you.”

“Stiles worries. He has his dad on a diet and he’s always taking care of Scott since he can’t take care of himself.”

“Not surprising. What did Peter want to talk to you about?”

“Don’t really know. He was harassing me at the grocery store and asking a bunch of different questions, so I just told him I would talk to him later to get him to leave me alone.”

“It’s weird to think that you don’t want to talk to Peter. I remember he used to be like your best friend. You would go to him for everything.”

“Things have changed since then.”

“Don’t I know it?” Cora let out a hallow laugh and tilted her head up towards the sky. “You’re nothing like how I remember you being. When I look at you now it’s like I’m seeing two people: the person I remember and who you are now.”

“Things changed after the fire.”

“We both grew up.”

“Yeah.”

We fell into a stiff silence as we continued our trek through the still and quiet forest. Cora was keeping her eyes resolutely forward and not making a single sound, despite stepping on leaves and twigs. I tried my best to keep my eyes focused forward, but my gaze kept drifting back to Cora for short periods of time before I would realize what I was doing. When our destination finally came into view, I let out a sigh and crossed my arms over my chest as I came to a stop.

“It looks so hallow. Why haven’t you torn it down?”

“I don’t know. I know I probably should, but I can’t bring myself to.”

“They wouldn’t want to be remembered this way.” Cora slowly made her way up the steps and pushed open the front door. “Why does it smell like gun powder in here?”

“The hunters were using it as their base while Gerard was in town.”

“It wasn’t enough that they were the ones who did this in the first place, they had to use it as a meeting place too?”

“Well Gerard was hell bent on killing every werewolf he could get his hands on, I don’t think he was particularly concerned about how I’d feel. If anything he probably thought it was an even better idea because of it.”

“I hope he’s rotting in hell with his bitch of a daughter then.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that. Even if it is true.”

Cora tried to glare at me, but it was obvious there was no heat behind it. “You sound like mom. Are you going to make me wash my mouth out with soap?”

“If I told you to would you do it?”

“No.”

“There’s your answer.”

“Wow. If I knew you were this much of a pushover I would have demanded your bed by now. It’s so much bigger and softer than mine.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped when the sound of one of the porch steps creaking reached my ears. I quickly moved across the room so I stood in front of Cora and watched as the door was thrown open so hard it came slightly off its hinges. The female alpha from the alpha pack strolled in bare foot with the two twins flanking either side of her like meaty bodyguards. She tapped her foot lightly against the wood floor before stepping further into the house with her eyes focused completely on me.

“Derek.”

“What do you want Kali?”

“I think you know exactly what I want Derek.” Kali ran her now clawed hand lightly over the wooden railing of the burned staircase. “Deucalion might have given you a choice, but I’m not. Ennis is dead because of you and I’m going to make you pay for it.”

“I didn’t kill your boyfriend. He fell. It was his own fault.”

“So did you and yet you’re still alive. It’s only fair that I take from you what you took from me. Such an innocent little boy, your human. How easy it would be rip his throat out or maybe I’ll give him the bite. Strip him of his humanity, drive him crazy, destroy him.”

“If you so much as touch him…”

Kali’s eyes flashed bright red as she let out a loud growl. “I would keep a close eyes on him if I were you. Ennis is dead and I will get my revenge. No deal with Deucalion can help you now.”


	10. Peter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter tells a story about Derek's past.

“So now the crazy alpha bitch wants to rip my throat out because you and her lover fell and he died, but you didn’t.”

“Yes, Stiles!” Derek’s voice was low and a borderline growl that merely made Stiles roll his eyes in what could only be exasperation. “I don’t think I could have made it any clearer.”

“Please tell me this isn’t going to turn out like the Matt thing. I don’t think I can handle Jackson following me around again.”

“It’s not like I didn’t have better things to do than make sure Matt didn’t steal you away.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Was my stalker cutting into your pampering time? How many times a week do you have to use that fancy face scrub anyway?”

“It’s not face scrub.”

“Really? You know I read the direction on the bottle and it was definitely face scrub.”

Jackson’s eyes narrowed in suspicion at Stiles’s comment. “You’re lying. The directions are written in Russian on the bottle. I had to pull them up online and get Danny to use a page translator to get the instruction.”

“Bozhe moĭ. I learned Russian before I learned English.”

“You just got that from The Avengers.”

“I knew you went to see it more than once and for your information my mom taught me Russian before English because she thought it would be a funny joke to play on my dad. He wasn’t very amused when I said da and meant yes I want some banana not dad. I also know Polish if you want me to run circles around you in three different languages.”

“How about I-”

“Now, now boys there’s no need for that.” I pushed off from the place against the wall I had been leaning against during the whole ‘meeting.’ “There are other ways to prove who the biggest one in the room is.”

“First of all: ew. Secondly, nobody asked for your opinion creeper wolf. What are you even doing here? All you do is stand in the corner and look at us like we’re some sort of Shakespearian play.”

“As entertaining as your little teen drama is, I have better things to do than listen to two of you bicker at each other so let’s get on with the point of this meeting.”

“What are you worried you’re going to miss Dancing with the Stars?”

“While I do enjoy watching them dance-”

“Again: ew.”

“Derek was adamant that I come to this meeting. Can we get on with the actually meeting portion of the night now?”

“As much as I hate to agree with Peter, I just got off of a twenty-four hour shift and I need to call the Sheriff to fill him in on all of this before I get to sleep.”

Derek nodded his head politely at Mrs. McCall and cleared his throat before speaking. “Since what attacked Scott and I is still out there, I want everyone to be with at least one member of the pack at all times. I also want to start looking for Kali, so we’re going to go out in pairs tonight and look for where the alpha pack might be hiding out. Jackson you’ll go with Boyd and Scott will go with Isaac.”

“What about you and Cora and Sir Creeps-a-Lot?”

“Cora and Peter will be staying here with you.”

“What?” Stiles stood up so fast he almost tripped over his own feet and face planted on the glass coffee table. “You’re going to go looking for Kali and effectively the rest of the alpha pack alone, while your stalker uncle and sister babysit me in your loft? Not happening. So not happening.”

“Stiles.”

“When are you going to learn that saying my name in exasperation is not an effective argument against me? Also what about Ms. McCall? If Scott isn’t home then she’ll be all by herself and that goes against your pack pair up rule.”

“Can’t you ever just agree with me?”

“You mean just roll over?”

“Why am I dating you? I’ll be fine by myself and if Melissa wants she can stay here, but I’m not going to make her. She can take care of herself.”

“The implication being that I can’t?”

“You know that’s not what I mean. Would you just go along with me for once without arguing?”

Stiles ran a disgruntled hand through his hair and sent Derek a look that clearly meant to express his distaste for this plan. “I swear to all that is holy I will kick your furry ass if you come back injured or get kidnapped or your uncle so much as makes one comment that makes me want to bleach my brain.”

“Fine.”

“I know you are and you’ll probably end up hurting yourself in the process.”

“You think you’re so freaking funny.”

“Go use your super sniffer to find the alpha bitch.”

* * *

 

“Who wants to play a nice wholesome game of Monopoly?”

“I would rather stab my eyes out with a dull ice pick.”

“Derek wouldn’t be very happy with me if he came back and both your eyes were bleeding.”

“Guess we’re not playing Monopoly then.” Stiles went back to typing on his phone with a deep scowl plastered on his face. “Why don’t you go pick a dark corner to sit in and stay quiet?”

“That wouldn’t be any fun.”

“Maybe not for you, but I sure would enjoy it. I’m sure Cora would agree with me.”

“I’m sure we can find something to talk about.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Really? You don’t have any questions? Nothing that I might know and you don’t?” I took a seat across from Stiles who was studying me carefully.

“And you’ll answer whatever question I have?”

“Of course.”

“What’s the difference between gold eyed and blue eyed betas?”

“Well that is certainly an interesting question. I can only assume you want to know why it is Derek had blue eyes.”

“Are we doing story time?”

“That would require you being quiet for an extended period of time. Do you think you can manage that?”

“Just start talking.”

“Fine. I’m sure you’re aware that Derek attended Beacon Hills High School.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and glanced over at Cora who simply shrugged her shoulders. “Yes, I know that Derek went to Beacon Hills High School just like you did. What does that have anything to do with the difference between blue eyed werewolves and gold eyed werewolves?”

“Well every story has to have a setting. The story about how Derek got his blue eyes just so happens to take place there. You see Derek was like the rest of you annoying teenagers in high school. He had obnoxious friends, played sports, and fell for a pretty girl. Of course she couldn’t stand him at first. Derek was a cocky little shit and Paige was well…”

“Immune to the cocky jock routine?”

“That and she obviously saw through Derek’s act and she wasn’t impressed by it. You actually remind me of her. Innocent, intelligent, stubborn.”

“Get on with the story. You’re such a creep.”

“If you insist. I’m sure you’ve both figured out that Derek ended up getting the girl? Somehow Derek used what little charm he had back then to pluck all the right cello strings with that one.”

* * *

 

_I looked up from the book I was reading when a tentative knock sounded from my door and my senses picked up on Derek’s distinct scent. After giving an affirming grunt, Derek slowly opened the door and poked his head in my room with a nervous look on his face. I raised my eyebrows and motioned for Derek to come further into the room. He quickly closed the door behind him and moved to sit with his legs crossed on the end of my bed._

_“Why are you acting so shady? You don’t need me to help you hide a body do you? You know I would, but your mother wouldn’t approve.”_

_“What!” Derek’s eyes went wide and he looked frantically around the room like he was expecting his mother to jump out from behind the curtains. “Why would I need you to help me hide a body? I haven’t killed anybody. Have you killed somebody?”_

_“No. I just wanted to see the look on your face when I asked. What do you need? You look like you’re about to vibrate out of your skin.”_

_“I need some advice.”_

_I marked the page in my book and set it on my bedside table so Derek had my full attention. “Advice about what?”_

_“There’s this girl.”_

_“I should have known. What’s her name?”_

_“Paige. She plays the cello and has the most amazing smile I’ve ever seen. She completely different from all the other girls I’ve met.”_

_“She certainly sounds like quite the girl. It also sounds like you’re head over heels in love with her.”_

_“That’s ridiculous.” Derek picked nervously at the fabric of his jeans. “I’m only fifteen. I can’t be in love right? That would be insane or like something out of a bad teen romance novel like the ones Laura reads.”_

_“As your mother says, age is just a number. It can happen at any time, at any place, at any age.”_

_“But how do you know? How can you be sure?”_

_“No clue. I’ve never been in love and I’m sure it’s different for everyone. Go with what feels right for now. You’re still young. Even if Paige doesn’t end up being the ‘one,’ you can still enjoy what you’re feeling now.”_

_Derek nodded his head and stood up. “Thanks Peter. Guess I have no excuse not to go and do my homework now.”_

_“Teenaged drama and homework. Those were the days.”_

* * *

 

“So this Paige girl was Derek’s first love. What does that have to do with the blue eyes?”

“I’m getting there. You have to be patient.”

“It seems more like you like to hear yourself talk and you want to drag this conversation out as long as humanly possible or werewolfly possible in your case.”

“I assure you understanding Derek and Paige’s relationship is important in the context of this story.”

Cora let out a low growl and crossed her arms over her chest. “They sound like your typically teen love stories. That’s not exactly a hard concept to grasp.”

“Not all teen love stories end the same. I’m sure you remember the alpha werewolf that Derek fought.”

“Ennis. What about him?”

“He and I used to be… acquainted. We met in college and became good friends before the fire happened.”

“Of course you were friends with someone that later turned out to be a psycho alpha werewolf. Doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.”

“If you knew what happened to him, I’m sure you’d understand.”

“I don’t understand how anyone could kill their entire pack. It’s ruthless and blood thirsty and cruel.”

“How do you think Ennis got his alpha powers so young? His pack were killed by hunters during our first year of college together. He was quite surprised to wake up in the middle of the night to find out he now had the power of an alpha.”

“That doesn’t give him the right to do what he did.”

“Ever your father’s son. My point is that Derek came into contact with Ennis before all of the alpha pack business, even if he doesn’t know or remember.”

“When?”

“That would require you allowing me to tell more of the story.”

“Alright you’ve made your point. Go on.”

* * *

 

_“So is that Paige? The girl you’ve been raving about so much. The one who’s captured your heart.”_

_“Shut up!” Derek hitched his backpack higher up on his shoulder and casually looked over it so he could see the girl I was looking at. “Yes that’s her. What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be helping mom with that thing not stalking around my school!”_

_“We finished early. I thought I’d come pick you up since you don’t have basketball practice and Laura has-what is it this time? Debate club?”_

_“I think so. Can we go now?”_

_“What’s the rush? Scared I’m going to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend?”_

_“Let’s just go. Please!”_

_“Seriously what’s the rush? A few weeks ago you were singing the girl praises and now you can’t get out of here fast enough?”_

_“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got a lot of homework to do. I need to get home so I can get started on it.”_

_“It’s Friday. You can do your homework Sunday night like every other teenager out there.”_

_“Fine.” Derek kicked at the ground uselessly for a second then shifted his gaze over to where Paige was loading her cello into a car. “Things are getting complicated because of her not knowing what I am. I don’t know what to do. It’s like I’m hiding a part of myself from her and I don’t know what to do.”_

_“I think there’s an obvious solution.”_

_“Really what’s that?”_

_“Do you trust me?”_

_“Of course.”_

_“Then you don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll take care of it for you. These types of situations have to be handled delicately.” I gave Derek a reassuring smile and started leading him towards the car. “By this time tomorrow, this awkward phase the two of you are going through will be over.”_

_“Are you sure I shouldn’t be the one to do it?”_

_“Trust me Derek. I know exactly what to do.”_

_“If you’re sure.”_

_“Positive.”_

* * *

 

“So you see Derek asked me to turn Paige. He knew that Ennis had recently gotten his alpha power and needed to start to build a pack. It was the perfect opportunity to bring Paige into the supernatural world.”

“Derek asked you to turn Paige?”

“Asked me to ask Ennis. I tried to deter him, but he was adamant. He told me if I didn’t ask Ennis, then he would go to Ennis and do it himself. He knew Ennis’s scent well enough that he could have easily tracked him so I agreed to ask Ennis for him.”

“Why would Derek ask you to turn Paige? Wouldn’t it have been easier to tell her what he is?”

“Yes, but you know love struck teenagers. Everything is all or nothing for them. If he told Paige and she freaked out about him being a werewolf, his life would have been over.”

“But if Paige was a werewolf she would have been forced to deal with the supernatural since she would be one.”

“Exactly.” I leisurely took a drink of water while Stiles and Cora slowly digested what they had just heard. “Are you two ready for the rest of the story?”

“Will the end of the story be as verbose as the rest of it was?”

“You seem to be enjoying it so far.”

“Will you get on with it already? I might not have anywhere else to be tonight, but I still don’t want to spend all of it listening to you.”

“Then I suppose I can get on with the story.”

“Please do. I’m shaking with anticipation.”

“Don’t be rude. You won’t get to hear the rest of the story if you keep that up.”

“Are you going to put us in time out?”

“Be quiet.”

“Fine. Go on.”

* * *

 

_“Derek! Derek!” I strolled through the entrance of the school with my best concerned expression on my face. “Derek are you here?”_

_“Peter!”_

_“I’m coming. Your mom was getting worried. What are you doing here?”_

_“Paige told me to come and when I got here I smelled another wolf so I tried to figure out who it was, but I couldn’t find him. Then I found her like this. Something’s wrong.”_

_I leaned down closer to where Paige was shaking violently in Derek’s arms. “Her body is rejecting the bite.”_

_“What? That’s not possible. She doesn’t even know about any of this. It’s not fair.”_

_“Life isn’t always fair Derek. We need to tell Talia about this. She’ll know what to do.”_

_“Why would somebody do this? This is Hale territory. Something like this hasn’t happened in hundreds of years. Why would it happen now?”_

_“I don’t know Derek, but we need to go. She doesn’t have much longer and things could get complicated if she wakes up. Rejecting the bite can be extremely painful.”_

_Derek stood up with Paige cradled gently in his arms and tears starting to gradually slide down his face. “Mom will know what to do right? She’ll make it… easier.”_

_“She’ll do whatever she can.”_

_“Whatever she can. Mom will do whatever she can.”_

_“Exactly. Let’s get going.”_

* * *

 

“Obviously there was nothing Talia could do for Paige. Once the body starts to reject the bite the only thing you can do is make them comfortable.”

“That’s the whole story?” Stiles’s eyebrows were raised and a look of displeasure was slowly making its way onto his face. “I don’t know if you remember, but I asked you what the difference between blue and gold eyed betas are.”

“I thought you were supposed to be the clever one. Don’t you see it yet?”

“What exactly am I supposed to be seeing?”

“Talia had Derek take Paige down to the root cellar so the two could have a little privacy in the last few minutes that she had to live. Since Derek and I were so close back then, he told me everything that happened down there a few weeks later even though he didn’t really have to. After all, his eyes were blue.”

“Would you stop beating around the bush? Tell us.”

“Paige woke up before the bite finished running its course through her body. The pain was too much for her to handle so she asked Derek to help her.”

“You’re joking.”

“Do I look like I’m laughing?”

“So if a beta has blue eyes it means…”

“They’ve killed someone. An innocent.” I yawned loudly and stretched my back as I stood up from the chair I had been sitting in all night. “I’m beat. Try not to do anything stupid while I sleep. Derek would throw a hissy fit if something happened to one of you.”

Stiles and Cora reminded completely quiet while I made my way up the stairs and to the spare bedroom I know Isaac had been staying in. I hummed under my breath as I made my way around the room and the bathroom getting ready for bed. With a sigh I eased myself under the covers and shifted around until I finally found a comfortable spot to sleep in. I was just starting to fall asleep when the sound of Stiles and Cora’s voices drifted up the stairs.

“Do you believe him?”

“I think he was telling the truth about blue eyed betas. Jackson killed innocent people while he was the kanima and he’s got blue eyes. I also know that Derek would have killed Paige if it might relieving her of the pain from rejecting the bite. He wouldn’t have been able to just sit by and wait for her to die when she was asking him to take her pain away. To have a person you love die in your arms…”

“What about the rest of it?”

“Derek once told Scott that the bite was a gift. You don’t just force it onto someone. I don’t think he would have forced the first girl he loved to have the bite.”

“It definitely doesn’t sound like the Derek I remember. He may have been a conceited asshole, but he never would have forced someone to do something they didn’t want to.”

“Guess we’ll just have to take everything Peter said with a grain of salt. Not that I was ever planning on trusting him. He’s kind of insane.”

“So I’ve been told.” There was a short pause of silence then Cora spoke again. “What do you want to do now?”

“You ever seen Modern Family?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	11. Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles finally reaches his breaking point.

The doors to the hospital slid open as I quickly made my way from the parking lot into the hospital where Melissa was standing behind the front desk with her hair pulled back in a messy bun. Her dark blue scrubs were slightly crinkled and she was scribbling furiously with her pen on a pad while talking on the phone. She looked up for a second and held up a finger when she saw me hovering in the space right in between the door and her desk. After several more nods she put the phone back in the receiver and made her way around the desk until she stood in front of me.

“Stiles. What are you doing here sweetie?”

“Is Dr. Gardner available?”

“No. He’s gone to a conference for the week. You could see one of the urgent care doctors instead.” My breath started to catch in my throat and my chest tighten. “Stiles? Come on. Come with me. You’re going to be fine.”

I nodded my head along with Ms. McCall’s words and followed behind her when she grabbed my arm to lead me down the hall.  It didn’t take her long to find an empty room that she hurried me into then shut the door with a soft click behind her. She motioned for me to take a seat on the perfectly made bed and ran a soft hand across my forehead as soon as I did so.

“Why are you asking to see Dr. Gardner? What’s wrong?”

“I haven’t slept properly in months. I have these random blackouts. I’ve caught myself sleep walking a few times and I haven’t done that since I was twelve. There have been times when I can’t even read or I think I’m hearing voices. My Adderall hasn’t been working and my anxiety is through the roof. The smallest things send me into a panic attack. I don’t know what else to do anymore.” Melissa nodded her head sympathetically then headed over to one of the cabinets that she pulled a needle and small bottle of some sort of drug from it. “What’s that?”

“Something that will help.”

“What will it do?”

“You’re extremely sleep deprived.” She pushed the needle easily into my arm and pressed the plunger down. “This is something that will help you sleep. Lie back and relax. Everything’s going to be alright. I’ll be in to check on you in an hour.”

A wave of exhaustion cascaded over my body as I leaned back onto the bed under the blankets and stared up at the slowly spinning ceiling. The blankets I had moved down to the end of the bed were pulled up my body so they were tucked perfectly around my shoulders. Melissa ran a comforting hand through my hair and placed a gentle kiss against my temple. I blinked my eyes open blurrily and could barely make out the outline of where Melissa was still standing over me. A blurry hand smoothed the blankets over my chest before the blob started to move towards the door.

“Thanks, mom.”

* * *

 

_“Stiles.” The creepy voice drew out the sound of the first letter in my name making my skin crawl at the snake like sound. “It’s almost time. Soon we’ll be in control.”_

_“In control of what?”_

_“We can have control of everything Stiles. We can trick them all.”_

_“Into doing what? I don’t understand what you want. Why me!”_

_“We.”_

_“We what? There is no we! Would you just answer me for once you sick son of a bitch?”_

_“Soon. Very soon.”_

* * *

 

I looked up at the ceiling blankly while the last lingering effects of the sedative Ms. McCall had given me earlier worn off. My fingers flexed lazily by my side as the feeling in my muscles gradually started to come back. When I could finally wiggle my toes, I sat up straight and glanced around the empty, dark room with little interest until my eyes landed on the pair of worn converse by the bed. I leaned down to quickly slip on the ratty shoes then grabbed the worn red hoodie off the chair by the door.

My hand pushed down the thin metal door handle and opened the door without so much as a slight creaking sound. The hallway outside the room I had been sleeping in was completely empty including the small nurse’s station that still had a computer monitor that was glowing brightly. I casually strolled down the hallway and through a set of double doors at the end with the words surgery written above it in red. The room behind the doors was just as dark as the room I had just been in and was completely empty.

A slight breeze brushed passed my face and before I knew what was happening my hand shot out to grab something next to my face. I turned slowly around to face a black clad stranger in a silver mask with glowing yellow eyes. My grip tightened on the hand I had snagged before it could touch me, but the creature remained unmoved. With a smirk I shot out my other hand so that it passed through the thing’s chest as though it were passing through water. When I pulled my hand back out, a small firefly was clutched in my hand and the masked person disappeared in a black mist.

The door behind me swung open and without turning I knew that Scott was the one who had just walked through it. “Stiles?”

“Scott. What are you doing here?”

“My mom called to tell me that you would be waking up soon and she thought I should take you home to get more sleep.”

“Let’s get going then.”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“I feel fine. Better than I have in weeks. In fact, I could really go for some curly fries right about now.”

* * *

 

A shiver ran through my body shocking me out of the fitful sleep I had managed to fall into sometime in the night. I let out a loud groan and somehow managed to pull my body into an upright position, despite my protesting muscles. My breath hitched in my throat when I noticed my surroundings weren’t what I was expecting them to be.

Instead of my comfortable bed, I was lying on what felt like a dingy concrete floor that was freezing against the bare skin of my arms. In my right hand I could feel my phone clutched tightly, so I fumbled around with the screen until I managed to get the flashlight working. The light blinded my eyes for several seconds and when it cleared I could make out several pipes running around the room. The room appeared to be completely empty of people except for myself and some dust floating around the dirty looking space.

Another shiver ran through my body making me aware of the tingling sensation in my toes that undoubtly had something to do with the fact I wasn’t wearing socks and it felt about twenty degree in the room I was in. I let out a loud hiss when a spark of pain ran up my right leg after I tried to move it around so I could stand up. I fumbled around with my phone until the flashlight pointed directly at my right leg and caused me to nearly throw up at the sight that greeted me. A large animal trap was clamped tightly around the lower part of my leg and blood was slowly dripping from the wounds. I took a deep breath and nearly screamed when a low thud echoed through the room.

“Shit, shit, shit. Oh, my shit.” My fingers skimmed haphazardly across the screen of my phone until I finally managed to dial Derek’s number. “Derek?”

“Stiles what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare? What’s wrong with your phone?”

“I don’t… I don’t know where I am. I think I was sleepwalking and I ended up here, but I don’t know where here is.”

“What’s around you? Can you see anything that might tell you where you are?”

“It’s dark and-” The sound of my phone disconnecting rang like a gunshot in my ear and nearly sent me into a panic attack. When I looked down at the screen, I let out a soft moan at the sight of the low battery percentage and no service scrawled on the top bar. I clicked through my setting to try and see if any Wi-Fi service was available, but not a single option popped up. I continued to stare at my phone until a single bar popped up and I quickly hit the call button once again. “I can’t move. I can’t go anywhere. I’m stuck. Derek my leg,.. Oh, my god. It’s bleeding and I can’t get it off. I don’t know how. I don’t know what to do.”

“Can’t get what off.”

“A trap. Like one of those big bear traps for catching animals. I can’t feel it though. It’s so cold in here and it smells. My eyes are watering”

“Let me call your dad.”

“No! Don’t call him. He already worries too much. Come find me. Please. I’ll call you again in a few minute just hurry.”

A tear slid down my face as soon as I ended the call with Derek and I didn’t have to worry about him overhearing anything. I pressed the palms of my hands firmly against my eyes to try to stem the flow of tears from coming, but the flow continued to come anyways. The sound of something scarping against concrete made me pull my hands away so I could try to see through the dark. I strained my ears to try to hear where the sound had come from, but the room had fallen back into to silence.

With a groan I wrapped both my hands around my right leg and slowly lifted it off of the ground enough so the trap wasn’t on the floor anymore. I tried to scoot back some so my back was pressed against the wall behind me, but the excoriating pain made me stop before I could move an inch. My breathing slowly evened out again as the excoriating pain faded into the dull, strange feeling it had been before. The light from my phone was still illuminating a small section of the room, a small section that seemed to include a furnace. My hands fumbled around once again with my phone until I managed to dial Derek’s cell number.

“Derek?” I whispered into the phone and licked my lips nervously while my eyes continued to flit around the little section of the room I could see. “I think it’s an industrial basement. The wall are all concrete, there are a lot of pipes, and what looks like a furnace.”

“Danny is on his way to the loft. He’s going to track your phone and Lydia called. She thinks she’ll be able to track you with her powers. She heard you asking her to come find you through her speaker.”

“That’s not good then. Never good if a banshee picks up on you.”

“Why are you whispering?” I glanced around the room again like I expected the other person or persons down here to jump out just because Derek had asked. “Stiles, talk to me.”

“I think there’s someone down here with me.”

“Stiles, are you sure you can’t get out of there?”

“Yes. I tried to move. I can’t. It hurts too much and it’s too cold. So cold.”

“Lydia wants to know what the red string means.”

“The red string is unsolved. I’ve been tracking all the murders and strange things that have been happening. I can’t figure it out.”

“Aiden’s with her.”

“At least one plan is working.” The scraping sound from earlier caused me to nearly drop my phone and gasp in surprise. I pulled my phone slightly away from my ear to shine the light in the direction the noise had come from. Someone was kneeling in front of the wall directly across from me scrapping something into the concrete wall. Upon closer inspection, I could see it was a backwards five like the ones on Derek and Scott’s neck. The person brought their hand down and turned around to face me head on.

I nearly screamed at the sight of the completely bandaged up face except for a hole where a mouth full of sharp metal teeth were on display. The thing shuffled forward almost like an animal casually moving towards its prey. Its teeth glinted dangerously in the low light that my phone was providing, but once it crossed halfway across the space it stopped moving towards me.

“It’s a riddle. Do you know any riddles?”

“A few.” I could hear Derek’s voice coming through my phone, but my full attention was on the thing in front of me.

“What gets bigger the more you take away?”

“A hole.”

“What gets wetter the more it dries?”

“A towel.”

“When is a door not a door?”

“When it’s ajar.”

“Everyone has it but no one can lose it, what is it?”

“I…” I wrecked my brains desperately to come up with the correct answer, but I couldn’t think of anything. “I don’t know this one.”

“Everyone has it but no one can lose it. Everyone has it but no one can lose it. Everyone has it but no one can lose it. Everyone has it but no one can lose it.”

“I don’t know! I don’t know the answer!”

“Everyone has it but no one can lose it.” The thing moved forward until its face was inches in front of my own and screamed. “Everyone has it but no one can lose it!”

“I don’t know the answer!”

The thing let out another frustrated scream and grabbed a hold of the trap still buried deep in the muscles of my leg. It started to drag my body across the floor by means of the trap clutched tightly in its bandaged up hand. I let out a blood curdling scream as the trap shifted further down my leg, tearing up more skin and muscle in the process. It felt like the trap was digging in deeper almost to the bones of my leg as I was pulled further and further along the ground. I grabbed desperately around for something to grab onto to keep the thing from being able to drag me, but my hands found nothing. My hands slid easily through the dirt and leaves and twigs that littered the ground underneath my flailing body.

Suddenly, a pair of hands were gripping my shoulders tightly and shaking my shoulders like they were trying to wake me up. I blinked past the tears that had been building up in my eyes to find myself looking into a pair of bright red eyes. A choked off sobbed escaped my throat and my hands shot out to grab a hold of the strong pair of shoulders above me. Relief spread through my body as Derek easily lifted me off of the ground and started to walk quickly in what I hoped was a direction that included warm blankets and a heater.

My head lolled back uselessly to see Melissa and Danny following behind Derek at what looked like a light jog compared to the fast walk Derek was doing. Melissa smiled gently at me, but I could tell that there was a sadness in her eyes that wouldn’t be going away any time soon. I tried my best to return the gesture only to close my eyes momentarily when my face muscles refused to cooperate.

“Am I getting an MRI now?”

“Yes, sweetheart. We’re getting you an MRI.”

* * *

 

My legs swung uselessly in the air while I waited for the MRI technician to come in to tell me what to do other than feel a sense of impending doom. A pair of worn leather boots appeared in my line of sight at the same time a pair of hands rested on my knees to stop my legs from moving. Those hands moved up to cup my face and moved my head until I was looking directly into the face of the worried man in front of me. Without thinking I brought both my hands up to rest over Derek’s before intertwining our fingers and letting them fall in my lap.

We remained in silence until the tears I had been holding back finally started to roll down my face and onto our intertwined hands. “I’m terrified of what they’re going to find.”

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is. We’ll deal with it.”

“If… Don’t leave him alone. Please. I need you to.”

“I will. Promise.”

I nodded my head jerkily then wrapped my arms around Derek’s shoulders and buried my face firmly in his neck. Derek’s arms wrapped around my waist and he moved forward so our bodies were lined up together perfectly. We continued to hug until the door opened and a technician in a pair of blue scrubbed stepped in with a comforting smile on her face. Derek nodded his head in acknowledgement of the women then pressed a kiss to my temple before leaving the room.

“I need you to lie back on the machine with your head on the pillow. Excellent. Now the machine will move in so we can do the scan. While the scan is in progress you’ll need to stay perfectly still or it could distort the images. Any questions?”

I shook my head no and watched as the technician pressed a button on the side of the machine that made it moved. A feeling of claustrophobia suddenly set in as the space around me shrunk down to the bright white of the MRI machine. I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to relax my body and remain still. Fresh tears were starting to make their way down my face again even though it felt like my body couldn’t possibly have any more to give.

“Stiles, remember to stay still. We’re going to start the scan now.”

The machine whirled to life around me buzzing loudly in my ears and blinding my eyes with a bright light above my head. I closed my eyes to keep the light out as much as I possibly could without turning my head into the pillow it was resting on. When the buzz of the machine finally stilled, I opened my eyes cautiously only to find I was no longer lying on the MRI machine, but standing next to it. My eyes immediately snapped up to the bandaged thing standing next to the door with his sharp teeth gleaming.

“Everyone has it but no one can lose it. Think, Stiles. Everyone has it but no one can lose it. Everyone has it but no one can lose it. Everyone has it but no one can lose it.” The thing dug its fingers into the bed of the MRI machine and tore easily through the fabric. “If you answer right, we might let them all go. Your friends, family, everyone you care for. We could let them live or they’ll die one by one. Answer us, Stiles. Everyone has it but no one can lose it.”

I turned away from the thing and slowly said the phrase back to myself until it finally clicked into place. “A shadow.”

When I turned back around, the thing was slowly unwrapping the bandage from its head until it revealed a face identical to my own. Panic rushed through my blood as the other me stepped closer with a dark smile spread across its face like it had in the mirror during one of my dreams. My eyes blinked involuntarily and when they opened again I was staring at a reflection of myself in the top of the MRI machine. The lights around me suddenly went out as a power surge ripped through the hospital like we had been expecting it to.

I slid out of the machine without any difficultly and slipped out of the room to the sound of people running around in a panic. Euphoria spread through me as the panic filtered into me and rid the ache that had settled into our body. I easily maneuvered through the people running around and stumbling from one area to another like a baby deer on ice. I came to a stop when a middle aged Asian woman stepped out of a still running elevator.

“You know me.” I gave her a bored expression and simply nodded my head in reply. “Your choice of host will not stop me. Innocent or not. I can’t allow you to do this. I will not allow you to do this.”

“Are you threatening us?” Two of the masked things-Oni my mind supplied-appeared next to Noshiko Yukimura. “We aren’t scared of your little fireflies.”

“They might not be able to defeat you, but I know someone who will.”

I smiled in response to the threat and took a step forward. “It’s not us you should be worrying about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up tomorrow.


	12. Lydia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack gets an explanation as to what is happening to Stiles.

Aiden was staring at me from the passenger’s seat in my car and had been the entire time it had taken us to drive from Eichen House to the hospital. Sheriff Stilinski had offered to drive everyone to the hospital, but I had refused despite the shaking in my hands. Of course that had happened an hour ago and yet I couldn’t bring myself to get out of my car. One of my best friends was somewhere in the hospital getting his brain scanned and I was sitting in my car like a coward. The buzzing sound I had heard while I was standing in Stiles’s bedroom had come back a while ago, but I kept my fingers from turning the music up to drown it out.

“You know.”

I turned my head to look at Aiden who was now avoiding my gaze. “Yes. I’ve known since I was found in January walking around in the woods naked. Stiles told me everything.”

“And you’re a…”

“Banshee. I sense death. Stiles figured that out. Stiles figures everything out.”

“But something’s wrong with him.”

“Yes. We don’t know what. It started out with him having trouble sleeping. Then the nightmares started and there were times he couldn’t read. He was hearing voices, seeing things. Someone in a brown leather jacket I think. The sleepwalking is the most recent development. I was so sure I knew where he was. I don’t understand.”

“Sounds like we should be calling in the Winchesters.”

“I’ve had enough of hunters.” I let out a heavy sigh and let my head fall back against my headrest. “Do the other alphas know anything about this?”

“Deucalion knows that there’s something else here. Something more powerful than we are. Kali doesn’t care. She’s hell bent on getting revenge for what Derek did to Ennis. There’s no way she’s leaving here without getting what she wants.”

“You and your brother don’t seem to be as invested in the whole alpha pack idea as the rest of them are or were.”

“The only reason Ethan and I joined is because we were the omegas of our old pack. Do you know what being an omega in a wolf pack is like?” I shook my head in response. “We were the equivalent of walking, talking punching bags. Whenever any of the others were frustrated or pissed off they’d take it out on us. They’d force us to do all the grunt work and there was nothing we could do about it. So when Deucalion offered to help us get the power of an alpha we agreed. It was a way out.”

“And now?”

“We owe Deucalion a debt. Nothing more. We’re not loyal to him and we don’t care about Beacon Hills or the Hale legacy.”

“Then why stay with him?”

“I told you. We owe him our lives.”

“Just because someone helps you realize your full potential doesn’t mean you have to continue to do everything they tell you to. They aren’t in charge of you.”

“It sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

“Maybe I am and maybe I’m not. Either way you know I’m right. Whatever this thing is that Deucalion is sensing could kill us all. You might be four alphas with Deucalion, but with us you’ll have an alpha, four betas, a banshee, and four humans with special talents. You’d be stronger with us than with Deucalion and Kali.”

Aiden nodded his head thoughtfully and cocked his head to the side like he was trying to listen to something without realizing it. “Ethan is falling in love with Danny. We weren’t supposed to. Our job was to pick out the weak links and exploit them, but Ethan has always been the more emotional of the two of us. If it came down to it, I think Ethan would pick Danny over the alpha pack. He won’t need any convincing.”

“So you’ll be joining us?”

“I value my survival, so yes we’ll join you.”

“Good to hear.”

“Hopefully your alpha thinks the same.” Aiden’s head suddenly snapped to the side and he started to unbuckle his seatbelt. “Do you hear that?”

“What?”

“Electricity.”

I quickly pulled off my seatbelt and followed Aiden out of the car. He headed straight towards the entrance of the hospital where Kira was making her way towards the sliding doors. Before she could make it any further a wire came whipping out of nowhere and started dancing around in front of her. Sparks were flying off the end of the cable where the live wires were peeking out of the cut off end.

Kira managed to jump out of the way the first time the cable went flying towards her face only to land safely in the grass next to the hospital away from all the people standing around the parking lot. The cable snapped back around and landed in a huge puddle of water before Kira had time to move out of the way. Just as the wires came into contact with the water a blur slammed into Kira and sent them both well out of the way of the live wire. I ran over to the two bodies on the ground and was more than a little surprised at what I found.

Isaac was convulsing on the ground like he had been the one standing in the water when the cable had touched it instead of the one that knocked Kira out. Kira, on the other hand, was glowing slightly with what could only be described as electricity. I looked over at Aiden with a raised eyebrow and he simply shook his head.

“I think we need to get the others and have a long conversation about what’s going on.”

“We can do it at my house.” Kira was looking apologetically at Isaac with wide eyes. “Sorry.”

* * *

 

It took nearly half an hour to get everyone filled in on the impromptu meeting at Kira’s place and sitting in the small living room. Kira had flitted around the entire time we were waiting for everyone to show up and was now sitting on the edge of her seat nervously staring at everyone with wide doe eyes. Her hands were fiddling with the end of her shirt, a movement so like something Stiles would do my heart squeezed painfully in my chest. The pain in my chest only got worse when Sheriff Stilinski and Derek came in without Stiles tripping his way in behind them. Sheriff Stilinski and Derek took the last available seats and looked expectantly at Kira until she finally cleared her throat to talk.

“I thought it might be best meet here because my mom should be home. She can be kind of intense, but I have a feeling she knows what’s going on. I accidently exploded a lightbulb earlier and she freaked out and not like she didn’t understand what was going on. More like she was freaking out because she knew what was going on. Sorry, I talk too much.”

“I’d certainly like to know what’s going on. My son disappeared at the hospital without anyone knowing it including the werewolves in the other room.”

“He’s being possessed by a kitsune, but not one like Kira or I.” Mrs. Yukimura crossed the room with a grace that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “It is a trickster fox. Better known as a nogitsune. It thrives off of chaos and destruction.”

“What does it want?”

“It doesn’t want anything. There are no material possessions you have that it would want. It doesn’t crave power or money like people normally do. All it wants is to feed off the chaos around it.”

“It sounds like you know a lot about this.”

“Kitsunes are immortal as long as their tails remain intact. As soon as the last tail breaks, they will begin to age like anyone else would.”

“Tails?”

“Mature kitsune’s have nine tails. A physical manifestation of our power. As I was saying, kitsune are immortal. I have lived a long time, but I was once young and naïve like any of you. During World War II, all Japanese Americans were placed into internment camps. After Pearl Harbor people had a hard time trusting us, so they locked us away instead. While I was in the camp, I fell in love with a young officer. He died during a riot one night. One of the other officers decided it would be easier to use a grenade to kill the rioters rather than dealing with them individually. He was caught in the explosion. His face and hands were severely burned so they wrapped them up and left him in the hospital ward. Medicine back then was nothing like what it is now, so all they could do was wait and he ended up dying. I was angry and heartbroken. I called upon a greater power for revenge and it came.”

“The Nogitsune.”

Mrs. Yukimura nodded her head then continued on with her story. “It took control of his body while two of the officers were going out to burn all the dead. It murdered them both then came back to the camp to finish off the rest. The deaths were brutal, violent, bloody. I knew as soon as I saw what he could do that I had made a terrible mistake. It took the sacrifice of one of my elders to contain the Nogitsune. I placed him into the Nemeton and left this place far behind. I knew that there were families in the area that had been watching over the Nemeton for centuries. While they watched, nothing would disturb the thing I had buried there.”

“The Nemeton?”

“Do you never wonder why this place is called Beacon Hill? The Nemeton calls to the supernatural. It was once a tree, but now it is merely a stump. For many years it has stayed dormant, but the first sacrifice started to bring the Nemeton back to power.”

“Paige.” Cora looked over at her brother who was staring intently down at the carpet.

“Yes. Her blood began the process of the Nemeton awakening. If that had remained the only sacrifice it received for a long while it would have gone back to being completely dormant. Stiles, however, brought the Nemeton back to full power.”

“Stiles didn’t sacrifice himself to the Nemeton.”

“I read the report. Innokentiy Stilinski bullet wound to the abdomen. Coded three times on the operating table. It might have been a short time, but Stiles did die completing a sacrifice to the Nemeton each time he did so.”

“How? How would his dying be a sacrifice to the Nemeton? He was at the hospital not bleeding out on some tree stump.”

“His mother was Claudia Kovalchik. Do you really think it was a coincidence that Stiles was pulled into the supernatural happenings around town? That he possesses a spark? He inherited that spark from Claudia. She guarded the Nemeton just like Talia Hale did. Exactly as their families had before them.”

“She used to take him out into the woods.” Sheriff Stilinski’s voice came out so low it was hard to hear him. “Whenever I asked her about it she would tell me it was there special place. Just for the two of them. He hit his head one day. Split it open on the side of a tree trunk.”

“The Nemeton. The blood he spilled on it tied him to the Nemeton so when he died those three times he sacrificed himself to the Nemeton without even knowing it. It also opened his mind to something that had been trapped in the Nemeton.”

“Why did it stay in him? Couldn’t it have just used his body as a conduit? A way of getting between the Nemeton and here.”

“Like I said earlier, the Nogitsune looks to create chaos. From the information I have gathered, Stiles is an extremely clever boy with a tragic past and deep ties to a werewolf pack along with a high ranking official of the town. Who better to control then someone right in the middle of everything and an ability to outwit those around them?”

“Who better for a fox to control than a fox?” Peter’s voice was so unexpected I nearly jumped in surprise. “He’s perceptive. He’ll know everybody’s weaknesses and how to exploit them. It would be a matter of choosing when to do it.”

“Saving him is impossible. The Nogitsune won’t let him live and can’t be killed. The only thing you can do is stop his body from killing anyone else. As soon as the sun goes down, I’ll send my Oni out to try and finish this. Now that they know who to go after it will just be a matter of them finding him.”

“He’s not dying.”

“There is no other choice. The Nogitsune must be stopped and since it has chosen Stiles as its host he must die with it.”

“No.” I stood up from the couch so I now stood above where Mrs. Yukimura was perched. “He won’t die. He’s saved all of our lives. Multiple times. We’re not giving up on him. He will make it out of this and the Nogitsune will suffer worse than death.”

* * *

 

“Can you find anything on nogitsunes?”

“No.” I slammed the final book shut and sank back into the couch with a frustrated sigh. “There’s nothing in the bestiary we got from the Argents, nothing in Deaton’s books, and nothing online.”

“Deaton said he could help. He left this morning to go get what he needs.”

“That doesn’t help us now though. Mrs. Yukimura said she was going to send the Oni out after Stiles until they kill him. We can’t wait around for Deaton to come back.”

“What are we supposed to do? We haven’t seen Stiles in two days. He could be anywhere. The Nogitsune could be doing anything.”

“How insightful of you Scott. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Fighting each other won’t help Stiles.” Derek voice was gruff and emotionless.

“At this point, it looks like nothing will help Stiles. I’ve exhausted all of my resources and everything that I have found points to what Mrs. Yukimura said. I want to save Stiles. More than anything, but I can’t help thinking there’s nothing we can do.”

“That’s probably how it wants us to feel.”

“Chaos and destruction. Where would you go if you thrived off of chaos and destruction?”

“Las Vegas.”

“The house.”

“An entire family burned alive, a hunter murdered, and Peter killed there. Seems like the type of place someone who thrives on chaos and destruction would go.”

“And when we get there? We have no way of helping Stiles.”

“No we don’t, but maybe we should take a page out of Stiles’s book. The Nogitsune might be in control, but it picked Stiles partly because of the way he thinks. Stiles dives head long into situations without much of a plan.”

“Think like the enemy.”

“Or in this case, the enemy and Stiles.”

“If we’re thinking like Stiles then wouldn’t he be expecting use to do this.”

“Stiles is normally the one who comes up with the plans. He’s the one who does all of the out of the box thinking. Let’s be honest here, if Stiles wasn’t around Scott would still be trying to figure out what bit him.”

“Hey!” Scott was trying to glare at me and falling hopelessly flat in the process.

“It’s true. He would expect a lot of things, but us thinking like him isn’t one of them. The rest of us always need a plan. Winging it has always been Stiles’s thing.”

“It’s worth a try, but if things start to get out of hand we get out of there. Got it?”

“Whatever you say, Derek.”

* * *

 

I was really starting to regret convincing Derek to go check out the Hale house when he decided it would be best to walk the last three miles to the house instead of driving. The heels of my shoes kept catching in the ground and every time I accidently stepped on a twig the two werewolves would glare at me. My fingers were itching to pull off both of my shoes and throw them at the werewolves, but I knew walking barefoot in the woods would lead to blisters and splinters. It didn’t help that the closer we got to the house, the more on edge Derek and Scott were.

“What is it? You both are tensing up like we’re about to step into a trap.”

“It smells like blood. Old blood and decay.”

“You think the Nogitsune killed someone.”

“It smells that way.”

I nodded my head and picked up my pace as much as I possibly could while wearing a chunky pair of high heels. The woods around me gradually started to thin out until the burnt out shell of a once beautiful house came into view. The mark left on the door by the alpha pack still stood out brightly against the charred wood of the door. Everything seemed exactly the same as the last time I saw the house, despite what Derek said about smelling blood. I took several more steps forward only to stop when a shadow appeared out of the corner of my eye.

Deucalion, Kali, and the twins were casually strolling out of the woods like they frequently took Saturday afternoon walks to a burnt up house. I took a step back at the same time Derek and Scott moved to stand in between me and the four alphas mere feet away. For a long while our two groups simply stared at each other obviously not having expected the other one to be there. Deucalion’s lips were just starting to curve up into a creepy smile when the door to the house creaked eerily open.

Stiles, or more accurately the Nogitsune, was standing in the open doorway with a dark smirk warping his face. The bags that had been slowly growing over the past couple of mouth stood out boldly against the pale color of his skin. His hair was standing up all over the place like he had just rolled out of bed and not bothered to run a brush through it. The only thing about his appearance that made me want to let out a sigh of relief was the fact his clothes looked completely clean.

“Well, this is certainly unexpected. We hope we’re not interrupting something.” Stiles stepped down the porch steps at a leisurely pace like he had all the time in the world. “Such a lovely place isn’t it. Lots of… history. No need to look so down, Derek. We’re doing you a favor.”

“Get out of him.”

“We don’t think we will. Too much knowledge in this brain of ours.”

“Then you can keep your favor.”

“But this one is just so much fun. The ramifications it will have are… mouth-watering. We did a little digging and you’ll never guess what we found.”

Derek gnashed his teeth together and balled his fists up at his side. “I don’t care.”

“We would if we were you.” The playful tone that I had heard from Stiles a hundred times was suddenly gone and replaced by something I couldn’t even begin to describe. “Deucalion hasn’t been very truthful with that pack of his. Blaming you for Ennis’s death. His body certainly tells a different story.”

The smell of death and decay that Derek and Scott had been talking about earlier suddenly hit my nose and made me want to gag. Ennis’s body was nailed to the inside of the front door that the Nogitsune had just pulled off its hinges. Where Ennis’s head should have been was a bloody mess that might have once been his head.

“Quite dreadful isn’t it and obviously not caused from him falling down a few feet. We would have hated to be in his position.” The Nogitsune mimed its head getting squeezed between its hands. “What do you think about this Deucalion? Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?”

“This is obviously one of your tricks.”

“We would hate to take credit for something we didn’t do. We haven’t even had the chance to get started. We’ve got much better things planned than this ugly display. Much more finesse with ours.”

“What do you plan to do?”

The Nogitsune turned to look at me with a cruel glint in its eyes. “Oh, Lydia. We plan to make you scream.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	13. Scott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack has trouble finding any information that might help them get Stiles back from the Nogitsune.

“Would you stop staring at the door?” Lydia was glaring at me from her seat next to me and seemed seconds away from stabbing me in the face with her pen. “Stiles will not magically appear just because you stare endlessly at the door. Pay attention.”

“You could at least pretend to care!”

Lydia narrowed her eyes dangerously. “I have spent the past week looking for a way to track Stiles down. The nogitsune is extremely intelligent and with Stiles’s memories it might be nearly impossible to find him until he wants to be found. So until that time happens, I’m going to sit here and take notes.”

I grumbled under my breath and finally turned my attention to the blank piece of notebook paper in front of me. “What are we supposed to do if Stiles does show up? How will we know if it’s him or the nogitsune?”

“Pay attention.”

“Deaton isn’t supposed to be back until tonight. He’s the only one who knows how to stop this thing.”

“Stop talking.”

“Are we supposed to tell his dad if he does show up?”

“Be quiet.”

“Do we tell Derek if Stiles comes to school? He would probably freak out and storm the school if we told him.”

“If you don’t be quiet, I will be forced to do something that will end up making you feel extremely uncomfortable.”

“How can you be so calm about this?”

Lydia gripped her pen tightly in her hand and waited for the teacher to turn his back on the class before she whipped around to look at me. “At the present moment in time, there is absolutely nothing we can do for Stiles. No amount of never-ending questions is going to change that. So instead of annoying me to the point I stab you in the eye with this pen, take your notes. It’s what Stiles would want you to do.”

“How do you know that’s what Stiles would want me to do? Stiles is my-”

“Because Stiles wouldn’t want your grades to suffer! Especially for something that he would see as being his fault.”

“But this isn’t his fault!”

“It’s not anybody’s fault except for the thing that’s possessing him. That doesn’t mean Stiles won’t blame himself for everything the Nogitsune does in his body.”

“We have to do something. We can’t just sit around.”

“Yes, we can. Even if we could find him, we still have no way of helping him. The thing most likely to happen is one of us getting hurt because we don’t know what we’re doing. That would hurt Stiles more than us not tracking him down.”

“We can’t give up on him. He never gave up on any of us.”

“We won’t.” Lydia’s voice came out as cold as steel and left absolutely no room for arguing.

* * *

 

Allison, Isaac, Boyd, and Kira were already sitting at the lunch table by the time Lydia and I managed to weave our way through the other students and to the outside tables. Allison and Isaac were talking while Kira watched with interest and Boyd stared off into space. Ever since we managed to rescue Boyd from the alpha pack, he had been more distant than he was before and the night at the motel didn’t help any. He would often spend most of his time looking into the distance and whenever someone brought up Erica around him he would completely shut down. The only person he seemed remotely comfortable around anymore was Cora.

Lydia brushed passed me and settled daintily onto the bench next to Kira. She immediately pulled out her laptop and started typing away without bothering to acknowledge the four people sitting at the table. I let out a heavy sigh as I dropped down next to Allison who placed a reassuring hand on my knee and gave me a small smile. I tried to return the smile with one of my own, but was sure I didn’t even get close to coming across as genuine.

“Well this is sufficiently awkward. Are we going to spend all of lunch like this?” Isaac’s eyebrows were raised as he looked from person to person. “Anyone?”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“There’s always the huge elephant in the room. We could talk about that.”

“I’ve had to listen to Scott talk about it all morning. I’d rather try to do something productive, than talk about it some more.”

“Sorry for worrying about my best friend.”

“Worrying doesn’t help anybody. Solving things helps people.”

I was about to open my mouth to fire back at Lydia, but Allison cut me off before I had the chance. “I finally got the chance to talk to my dad about what was going on last night and he thinks he might know someone who will know what to do.”

“Really? Who does he know?”

“He wouldn’t tell me the details. All he said was that they lived through a nogitsune first hand and makes it his business to know things. It might take a while to track him down though. His… job has him moving around a lot.”

“Having another first-hand account would be helpful. Mrs. Yukimura is obviously more concerned with getting rid of the threat as soon as possible, than what happens to Stiles. Even if we manage to figure out a way to help Stiles, we still need a way to find him and a way to keep the Oni at bay.”

“We could track his cell phone. He had it with him the night the Nogitsune disappeared.”

“Danny and I have already checked. He hid it under the driver’s seat in the Jeep. We weren’t really expecting anything less since the Nogitsune has access to Stiles’s memories. It will know that Danny can trace phones and his father would do that first in a case like this one.”

“So finding him will be difficult, but the Oni should be easy.” Allison glanced around the table expectantly and when no one spoke up she finally went on. “Mountain ash. It’s what we used to trap Jackson in the rave and it kept the werewolves in. It should do the same with the Oni.”

“Should being the operative word. There’s also the fact that the Oni can appear anywhere at any time. We can’t just sit in a ring of mountain ash every night.”

“The only person the Oni will harm is Stiles.”

“Which brings us back to our original issue. How do we find him?”

“Maybe you’re not supposed to.” Everyone turned to look at Kira at the same time obviously urging her to continue on with whatever idea had popped into her head. “You said the Nogitsune has access to Stiles’s memories. That means it will know that you’ll divide your time between finding a way to help him and finding a way to find him even if it’s impossible. You can’t track him with technology or scent. You’re wasting your time.”

“You think trying to find our friend is a waste of time?”

“To the Nogitsune it is. It feeds off chaos and destruction. If you’re all busy looking for it when you can’t find him, then he’s free to make plans without worrying about you having any way to counteract them. It’s staying one step ahead of you.”

“Then the question is how do you outfox a fox?” Allison looked at Lydia who was frowning down at the table.

“First thing’s first, you learn the game.”

* * *

 

My face was shoved as far into my pillow as it would go when a soft knock sounded from the other side of my bedroom door. Initially I planned to ignore the knocking, but my mom’s voice filtering through the door changed my mind. Instead of standing up to open the door, I let out a loud grunt to let my mom know it was safe to enter. I felt the bed dip down slightly right before a comforting hand started to run up and down my back.

 “I know you’ll probably think this is a dumb question, but how are you doing?” I gripped my pillow tighter and let out a noncommittal noise. “That’s kind of what I figured. I know I could spout out some crap about things getting better and there being a light at the end of the tunnel, but I know that won’t help any.”

“It’s not fair. Stiles doesn’t have claws or fangs. He can’t defend himself.”

“I think Stiles is lot stronger than you give him credit for. He can’t do this on his own though. He’ll need you to stay strong for him. He’ll need help getting through this.”

“How? How am I supposed to help him? We have no idea how to help him.”

“Sometimes having the courage to not give up, to keep pushing even when things seem hopeless, is enough.”

I pushed myself up and leaned back against the headboard with a sigh. “That won’t save Stiles from the Nogitsune. It won’t bring him back.”

“The Nogitsune has Stiles trapped in his own head right?”

“I guess so. Mrs. Yukimura made it sound like some sort of demonic possession. He’s there, but he can’t control anything his body does unless the Nogitsune lets him.”

“Then the thing you’re seeing when the Nogitsune is controlling him is still Stiles.”

“Sure, but it’s not Stiles.”

“I know that.” My mom gave my knee a reassuring pat before she continued on. “My point is that Stiles is still there when the Nogitsune is controlling him.”

“So?”

“So give Stiles a reason to fight back! He sees what the Nogitsune sees. He hears what the Nogitsune hears. All you have to do is get his attention.”

“You make it sound so easy. I can hardly get his attention on a good day. What am I supposed to do when there’s a thousand year old fox controlling him?”

“Get creative. He’s your best friend. You know him better than anyone else.”

“His dad would probably-”

My mom snorted and gave me a look that clearly said she was not impressed. “You’re a bunch of teenagers. You really think I believe that any of you tell any of us everything?”

“Yes…”

“Well I don’t. I’m sure there are things you’ve told Stiles that you might never tell me and I’m sure Stiles has told you things that he hasn’t told his dad. Nobody wants their parents to know all the things they get up to, especially when they’re teens.”

“Maybe. Lydia would probably be better at this. She’s the one Stiles has been talking to recently.”

“Sure, about boys and the supernatural and translating ancient scripts. That not the same relationship you have with Stiles. Stiles doesn’t go to you when he needs advice. He goes to you when he needs a best friend, a brother. There are somethings you tell your best friend that you never tell anyone else.”

“I… He knew exactly what to say. The night when I almost… He knew what I needed to hear. What if I can’t do the same for him?”

“Stiles has always been good at talking, but you’re not Stiles. Do what you’re good at.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“Show him.” My mom stood up with a deep sigh then pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Now I’m going to bed. I’ve had a long night at work and I want to sleep for at least twelve hours.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“It’s what I’m here for. Except for the next twelve hours.”

“Got it, mom. No waking you up.”

“I knew I raised you well. Do your homework.”

“It’s Friday night!”

“No time like the present, Scott!”

I let out a groan and flopped back down onto my bed. I turned to look at the backpack that was sitting innocently in the corner of my room. The main zipper was partially open and several papers were peeking out of the top from where I had shoved them in earlier. I stretched my hand out lazily, then let it fall back down when it didn’t even come close to reaching the stupid backpack. Homework could wait for some other day anyways.

* * *

 

“What if we-”

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me-”

“I didn’t have to. You were going to suggest another hare-brained scheme that would never work.”

“Would you two stop fighting? Neither of you are being helpful.”

“Derek’s right.” Allison sank down onto the coach cushion between Lydia and I so she could play mediator between the two of us. “The Nogitsune feeds off of chaos. If you two spend all your time fighting, then you’re just giving him exactly what he wants. I know you’re both worried about Stiles, we all are, so work together. Listen to each other’s opinions. Talk to each other instead of at each other.”

Lydia made an unimpressed noise while she continued to stare at her laptop screen and tap on the coffee table with a pen. I glanced over at Allison who gave me an encouraging smile and motioned for me to say something to Lydia to break the ice. I racked my brain for anything to say to Lydia that won’t make her give me the look that clearly said I wasn’t fit to be in her presence, but came up with absolutely nothing. I was saved from having to come up with anything when Lydia slammed her laptop shut, used the pen in her hand to put up her hair, and turned to look at me.

“I want to make something very clear. Even though you don’t seem to believe me, I do care about what happens to Stiles. I know you don’t approve of our relationship for some reason that I don’t particularly care about, but get it through your thick skull. I care. Stiles would do anything to save any of us and I plan to do the same. As long as we agree on that, nothing else matters.”

“Stiles is like my brother. I’ll do whatever I have to, to help him.”

“We’re on the same page then.” Lydia flicked the lid of her laptop back up and turned away from me. “What bright idea do you have this time?”

“Huh?”

“The thing you were so eager to talk about earlier. What was it?”

“Right. I just… My mom was talking to me yesterday and she said a few things that I thought everyone else might want to hear. You know, because it could be useful?”

“I’m listening.”

“She mentioned that Stiles could probably hear us whenever the Nogitsune shows up as him, so we should sort of draw him out.”

Jackson snorted and rolled his eyes until Danny punched him firmly in the arm causing him to sneer at his best friend. “What? I can’t be the only one thinking that sounds ridiculous. We’re just supposed to talk him out of Stiles’s body. The only who could talk to someone like that is Stiles.”

“How can we know if Stiles is in there or not? Wasn’t he having hallucinations or something before the Nogitsune took control of him? It could be that the Nogitsune isn’t powerful enough without him.”

“Cora makes a good point. The Nogitsune didn’t immediately takeover Stiles’s body. Either the Nogitsune needs Stiles because it’s not at full power yet or he’s keeping him around for some other reason.”

“What other reason would the Nogitsune have for keeping him around? I don’t even understand why the Nogitsune would want control of his scrawny body in the first place. He spends all of his time with werewolves. Why not get strong enough to take one over then move to one of them?”

“Mrs. Yukimura said the Nogitsune is a trickster spirit. It doesn’t value strength. It values cleverness and intelligence.” Derek scrubbed a hand over his face and slumped back onto the couch like he physically couldn’t force himself to hold his body up anymore. “Stiles is good at reading people and he grew up with a sheriff as his father. He probably has more information about this town and the people in it in his head than all of us combined.”

“He could destroy us without breaking a sweat.”

“So why hasn’t it?”

“It’s a trickster. What would be the fun in just killing us?”

* * *

 

The wind whistled in my ears as I sped down the practically deserted street to the almost equally deserted school. As soon as I turned off the engine on my bike, my eyes started to scan the parking lot for a powder blue Jeep. I had done it every day since Stiles has disappeared and just like all the other days no blue Jeep was parked in the lot. I pulled off my helmet in a disappointed huff and tightened my grip on my backpack before heading inside the school.

Isaac met me right outside the locker room with a knowing, sad smile on his face and a reassuring pat on the back. “Jackson’s already in there being his usual cheery self. I think he’s taking this Stiles missing thing harder than he wants us to think. He yelled at Greenburg until he nearly cried. Danny had to physically drag him away before he could do something stupid like wolf out in front of the entire locker room.”

“Jackson can barely stand Stiles.”

“That’s not true. At least it’s not true anymore. They have that weird brother relationship thing going on now.”

I stopped right in the middle of putting my bag away and turned to look at Isaac. “What do you mean brother relationship? They don’t act like brothers.”

“Not the same way you and Stiles act like brothers, but they still act like brothers. You and Stiles are the brothers that get along and get into trouble together. Jackson and Stiles are those brothers that act like they hate each other and constantly snipe back and forth, but would put their life on the line to save the other. Even if they won’t admit it.”

“You’d think he’d be trying harder to help us save him then.”

Isaac shrugged his shoulders and shoved his beloved scarf into his locker. “I won’t pretend to understand his thinking. He probably only talks about it with Lydia and Danny.”

“I guess. He doesn’t have to be such an asshole all the time. It only makes things more frustrating for the rest of us.”

“I think that’d be asking too much from him. The fact Aiden is always goading him probably doesn’t help any.”

“I keep forgetting about them.”

“They are on our side now.”

“Deucalion and Kali are still out there waiting to kill us all.”

“That is if the Nogitsune doesn’t kill them and then kill us and then kill everyone else in this town.” Isaac pushed open the locker room door and started heading towards the path we would be running today. “Of course at that point the Nogitsune probably won’t need Stiles anymore so he’d end up dead too.”

“That makes me feel better.”

“It’s what I’m here for. There’s also Erica to think about. Boyd and Cora have been looking for her, but they can’t find anything.”

“Right. Erica.”

“You forgot about Erica?”

“I’ve kind of got a lot of things on my mind right now and we didn’t exactly talk a lot. She and Stiles had more in common than her and I did.”

“Well if the Nogitsune ends up killing everyone it won’t matter whether we find Erica or not. She’ll be killed by the Nogitsune when it kills the rest of the town.”

I shook my head with a sigh and bent down to stretch out some of the tightness in my legs. “How about we talk about something other than everyone being killed? Like you and Cora. What’s going on there?”

“I don’t think I’m drunk enough for this conversation.”

“You can’t get drunk. Does Derek know?”

Isaac’s entire face drained of color. “No. He definitely does not know. If he knew he, would have smothered me in my sleep by now.”

“I don’t think he’d go with smothering. He always told Stiles he would rip his throat out with his teeth.”

“Awesome. Nice to know what I have to look forward to. If we don’t all get murdered by the Nogitsune first.”

“Again with the-”

“Scott.” I spun around so fast I almost knocked over the person standing next to me. “Scott. I… I need your help.”

“Stiles?”

“I think I’ve done something.”

“Done what?”

Stiles bit his lip and glanced around at the other people to make sure they weren’t listening in. “Something that will get people hurt. I’m not exactly sure what. I can’t remember everything, but I think I did something on the trail.”

“We can’t let them run.”

“It might be a little too late for that.” Isaac gestured towards the people starting to run down the trail at Coach Finstock’s insistence. “Now would be a good time to come up with a plan if anyone has an idea.”

“I’ve got one.”

* * *

 

The arms wrapped around my waist tightened right as my bike bumped over a few exposed tree roots along the side of the trail. Several of the runners turned to look as I rode past with confused expressions on their faces. I tried my best to avoid their stares and pushed my bike to go faster than it already was. My heart was pounding in my chest as I looped around a bend and finally saw the first of the runners only a little further down the trail.

One of the runners at the front turned to look behind them and came to an abrupt halt when they saw me riding towards them. This caused one of the runners behind him to collide with him and sent them both to the ground. The sound of two bodies colliding made the rest of the front runners stop and look behind them at what had caused the noise. Jackson, the twins, and Danny all looked directly at me with confused expressions on their face.

I continued down the trail like I hadn’t seen them and hoped that Isaac would be able to catch up with them before they decided to keep going. My eyes scanned the sides of the trail for anything that could be potentially harmful, but couldn’t find anything. I was starting to think that Stiles was remembering what the Nogitsune had done wrong when I finally noticed the glint of something in a tree. Without thinking I pulled my bike to a grinding halt and nearly ended up tipping the bike on its side. I quickly ripped my helmet off and stepped off the bike while Stiles did the exact same behind me.

“There’s something in that tree over there.”

“What kind of something?”

“I don’t know, but we need to go check it out.”

“Lead the way then.”

“Maybe you should-”

“McCall!” I turned in horror to see Coach Finstock angrily stomping his way down the trail from the opposite way we had been riding. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? This is cross country not BMX motor biking!”

“Coach, stop!”

“Stop? I’m the one who tells you what to do.”

“We think there might be something dangerous on the trail.”

“Dangerous? This is a school owned trailed. No one is allowed on this trail without permission from the school. You know what that means McCall? Some idiot can’t come and put things like bear traps on it. It’s perfectly safe.”

“Coach, I seriously don’t think you should come any closer. Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry in these kinds of situations?”

“Don’t be an idiot, McCall.” Finstock took another step forward and the sound of something whistling through the air filled my ears right before Finstock let out a pained grunt and fell to the forest floor with a thud. “What in the world? I’ve been shot. Don’t just stand there. Call an ambulance!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	14. Derek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek gets an unexpected call and ends up in a race against the clock.

The sound of Boyd and Cora banging around in the kitchen yanked me out of the fitful sleep I had managed to fall into at some point last night. Their voices easily drifted through the empty loft and made it impossible to get back to sleep even if I wanted to. I pushed the sheets bunched around my waist to the ground and headed towards the small dresser in the corner of the room. It didn’t take long for me to decide what to wear today considering there was only one pair of jeans and a shirt still left in the drawers. Doing laundry had been placed on the backburner since there have been more pressing issues at hand. I quickly threw on the two articles of clothing, then headed to the kitchen where Cora and Boyd were now sitting at the table.

“Morning.” Boyd held out a cup of coffee and my phone. “Scott just tried to call you.”

“Thanks. You two have plans for today?”

“Cora thinks she might have picked up Erica’s scent last night. We’re going to go check it out after breakfast.”

“Just be careful. The twins might be on our side now, but the Kali and Deucalion are still dangerous.”

“We know to go the opposite way of the dangerous scents.” Cora drained the rest of her coffee in one fell swoop, then pushed away from the table. “Call us if you need anything, otherwise we’ll be back tonight. You should answer that now. It’s getting to be really annoying.”

I nodded my head and pressed the bright green answer button. “What’s wrong, Scott?”

“Hold on a second. Can you hear me?”

“Barely. What are the sirens for?”

“Coach was sort of shot with an arrow.”

“It was a bolt. Crossbows use bolts not arrows. Give me the phone. You’ll do a horrible job of explaining.”

“I was doing alright before you jumped in.”

“Just hand over the phone, Scott.” Crackling filled the phone along with some grumbling for the few seconds it took the two on the other end to switch. “Der?”

“Stiles?”

“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.”

“You’re back.”

“Well kind of. I don’t really remember what I’ve been doing or how many days have gone by really. I just woke up in the middle of nowhere with a vague memory of putting up traps in a few place around town. I don’t know how many. The only really clear one was the one I put up on one of the school trails. I tried to stop it, but-”

“Coach set it off.”

“Pretty much. They said he’s going to be fine. It didn’t hit anything vital. I still feel-”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is. This is the definition of my fault, Derek.” I could effortlessly imagine Stiles standing in front of me with a frustrated look on his face, while he ran a shaking hand through his unruly hair. “If one of those other traps goes off and people get hurt, I don’t know…”

“We’ll figure this out.”

“Will we? My mind feels foggy. I can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t. How can I sort through all of this mess and keep it from getting what it wants?”

“You’re not alone in this. We can help.”

“Help? Going by the shocked expression on Scott’s face when he saw me, you haven’t been able to track me at all for however long I’ve been gone. How do you expect to figure out what I’ve been doing if you can’t track my scent?”

I let out a frustrated growl and tightened my grip on the phone. “I don’t know. We’ll figure it out as we go. It’s what we do, right?”

“Right. You’re right.”

“Look, stay at the school. I’ll meet you and Scott there.”

“We’ll be waiting by the lacrosse field. Bye.”

“Bye.”

* * *

 

It took every ounce of self-restraint to not break my steering wheel in half on the short drive from my loft to the school. Every word Stiles had said over the phone was reverberating around in my head like the big realization moment in a movie. A crawling sensation was making its way up and down the skin of my arms and neck causing me to shiver involuntarily. I expected the sensation to go away as soon as I pulled up to the curb next to the lacrosse field, but the feeling only got more intense as Stiles got closer to the car.

“Saying ‘hey’ would be too causal, wouldn’t it?”

“Causal has never been your strong suit.”

“True.” Stiles’s eyes flitted awkwardly around the car and refused to meet my own. “I guess I should sit in the back. In case the… the thing, decides to make a reappearance.”

“Probably a good idea.”

Stiles nodded his head awkwardly before flailing his way into the backseat with his usual amount of grace. Scott righted the passenger’s seat as soon as Stiles was securely settled in the back seat and sat himself in the empty seat. The sound of Scott’s door slamming shut reverberated through the car causing the uncomfortable silence to become almost unbearable in a matter of seconds. I drummed my index finger nervously against the steering wheel, not really sure what I was supposed to do next.

“Any ideas where we should start looking?” Scott shook his head almost immediate, but Stiles cleared his throat like he was unsure whether he should speak up or not. “What is it Stiles?”

“So it might be a long shot, but what if the reason you couldn’t track me was because I was mainly staying in places where I spend a lot of time at. You all wouldn’t have bothered to look in those places since they’re too obvious and even if you just went sniffing past them, you would have expected my scent to be there even if it had been a while.”

“What places would you say you spend the most time in?”

“School, obviously, but we already found the trap I put up here. There’s the loft, although I highly doubt I would have been hanging around there. Going to a place where a bunch of werewolves live would be suicidal. That would leave my house and the Sheriff’s Department.”

“The Nogitsune wants destruction. Setting a trap in a home doesn’t really meet that kind of large scale destruction it’s looking for.”

“A busy Sheriff’s Department would fit the bill perfectly.”

“Scott, call the Sheriff. Are you sure you don’t have any idea what it could possibly be?”

Stiles rubbed his hand over his face furiously. “I don’t know. It could be anything. There’s so much running through my mind.”

“Relax and focus. Think about the Sheriff’s Department. That’s all.”

“You’re talking to an ADHD person with a scrambled up noddle. Focus is a little hard to come by.”

“Try.”

“Fine, fine. Give me a minute. I’m not promising anything.”

Stiles squeezed his eyes shut and wrinkled his nose in what I knew well to be concentration. His forehead wrinkled deeply at the same time his let out an impatient huff. Hands twisted firmly into the fabric of Stiles’s jeans causing them to go a stark white against the faded blue. The wrinkles in his forehead deepened and his lips pulled into a harsh frown right before his eyes snapped open.

“This is useless. All I get are these flashes. The only thing that’s clear is a box.”

“A box?”

“Yeah. Just a little, plain cardboard box closed with butcher paper and twine.”

“A cardboard box that could have anything in it like a bomb or-”

Stiles’s eyes went wide and he slammed his hand hard against the back of my seat. “Drive. Now.”

* * *

 

“Your dad said he signed for a package when he went into the office today and he’s heading back from the bomb scare at the school now. You don’t have to worry about him. He’s safe.”

“Scott, there are other people at that station who might be in danger.”

“I know that.”

“You must not. People might die. Because of me, Scott.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Who else’s fault would it be?”

“The thing that’s controlling you.”

“It’s still me, Scott! My body, my hands!” Stiles inhaled sharply, then buried his face in his hands. “Let’s just hurry. Please.”

“You can’t seriously blame yourself for what’s happening.”

“I don’t want to talk about this right now. In fact, I never want to have that conversation. I’d like to avoid that conversation until the end of time.”

I could tell that Scott was about to say something that would undoubtly send Stiles on a rant, so I decided it would be best to cut him off before any harm could be done. “How about we focus on the problem at hand? How are we supposed to disarm a bomb?”

“I don’t know about you two, but I’m not familiar with how bombs works or apparently I am I just don’t know how to stop them.”

“Then we can only hope that everyone manages to evacuate the building before it goes off.”

“What are we supposed to do if-”

The sound of a small explosion filled the air right as I was pulling into the parking lot of the Sheriff’s Department. Pieces of glass and wood could be seen flying around the inside of the building along with several limp bodies. Screams filled the air along with people breathing harshly and coughing up what sounded like blood. I quickly pulled the car into park and headed for the entrance to the building without bothering to wait for Scott or Stiles.

The inside of the building was an absolute disaster. Debris was scattered across the floor in such a thick layer, that the wood underneath could hardly be seen. The room that had once been Sheriff Stilinski’s office was now nothing more than a messy room. The windows were all completely blown out and the doors had been blown so wide open they were barely hanging on by the hinges. The metallic smell of blood filled the air causing my attention to hone in on the prone figure laying still on the floor.

I dropped to my knees next to the man lying in the center of the room and carefully rolled him flat onto his back. A large shard of glass was lodged into the side of his neck with blood pouring steadily out of the wound. His breath came out in wheezing gasps occasionally stopping when he would chock on his own blood. The sound of someone dropping to their knees next to me made me change my gaze from the man to the person next to me.

“Can you do anything to help him?”

“Stiles, he’s dying.”

“I know. I… You could take his pain right? Make it hurt less?”

I opened my mouth several times to say something, but couldn’t think of the right thing to say so instead I nodded and took the man’s hand in my own. A steady thrum of blinding pain ran up my arm making my arm shake slightly from the effort. My ears tuned in to the sound of the man’s slowly weakening heartbeat as I took more and more pain from the man until the sound stopped all together. I gently lowered the man’s hand so it rested on top of the man’s now unmoving chest.

“You three need to get out of here. I can take care of this. There’s already an ambulance on the way.” Sheriff Stilinski rested a firm hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You need to get Stiles somewhere safe. A big storm is about to hit and from what I understand, the Oni come out whenever the sun isn’t.”

“Right.”

“Take care of him.”

“I will.”

“Do you have any idea where he’ll be safe?”

“Deaton’s. The place is lined with mountain ash and anything else that could keep something supernatural out.”

“You need to hurry then. I doubt they’ll wait for you to be prepared.”

* * *

 

The drive to Deaton’s clinic could only be described as a race against the clock. My eyes were constantly checking the rear-view mirror to see if the dark storm clouds were catching up with us or not. We managed to get all the way to the clinic before the first drop of rain fell on the windshield, followed quickly by a few more. It seemed like a matter of seconds passed between the raindrops starting to fall and the whole sky turning nearly black.

The three of us nearly made it all the way to the back doors, when the first Oni appeared out of nowhere directly in front of us. My claws quickly snapped out and I took a wide swipe at the masked figure that missed by mere inches. The Oni rolled out of the way leaving the path open for Scott and Stiles to take.

I was taking my third swipe at the Oni when I barely heard Scott telling Stiles to take the keys and get inside. Not long after that, a second Oni appeared in my peripheral vision followed by a now wolfed out Scott. The short distraction nearly gave the Oni I was fighting the chance to gain the upper hand, but I managed to roll out of the way just in time. Of course that was when a third Oni showed up so I now had two Oni looking at me with their bright yellow eyes.

They were both prepping to lunge for me when an arrow came flying past the side of my head and glanced right off one of the Oni’s mask. Another arrow quickly followed the first one, this one heading straight towards the other Oni’s eyehole. The arrow flew right through the Oni’s eye hole exactly like I had been expecting it to and clattered against the side of the clinic. In the split second I was distracted by what was going on in front of me, one of the other Oni snuck up on me from the side and slammed the hilt of the katana against my temple.

I was just coming back to my senses when the Oni standing right in front of me ran its blade through the middle of my abdomen. Someone screamed my name, then a black haired girl came flying out of nowhere and slammed both feet into the Oni’s chest. Two pairs of hands grabbed a hold of my shoulders and guided me through the clinic door. They leaned my lower back careful against one of the examination tables that I immediately gripped the edge of tightly.

“What are Allison and Kira doing here?” I looked between the two soaking wet girls, then to Scott.

“I sent Allison a text on the way over here. I figured we could use all the help we could get.”

“Good idea. You know what else would be a good idea?”

“What?”

“If you took this sword out of me.”

“I can do that.” Scott stepped forward, but was stopped by Stiles who squeezed his shoulder in comfort then slammed Scott’s head right into the side of the table. Kira moved to stop Stiles which earned her a backhand that sent her sailing into one of the medicine cabinets. The sound of Allison notching an arrow filled the air making Stiles pause. His face stayed blank as he turned to look at Allison. I was expecting him to talk his way out of an arrow in the skull, instead he grabbed the bow right out of Allison’s hands and snapped it in two. The sound of the two halves hitting the floor filled the now silent room.

“We wouldn’t do something like that again. Humans are so breakable. You wouldn’t hold up nearly as well as those two.” Stiles motioned at the two still bodies on the floor, then turned his attention to me. “You have something we want.”

“What?”

“You haven’t done your reading have you?”

“I’ve been a bit preoccupied.”

Stiles made a tsking sound and walked his fingers up the handle of the sword. “You know. You should never trust a fox. Nope. We’re tricksters. We’ll fool you.”

“It’s been you all day.”

“Us and you did exactly what we wanted you to do. We feed off of pain, strife, and tragedy. You happen to be quite familiar with all of those things. The fire, Laura, Stiles. So much hurt. There’s also the pain you took from the deputy today. All we had to do was ask. Now we want it.”

“You are not Stiles.”

“We beg to differ.” Stiles gripped the handle of the sword and started to turn it. “This is us, Derek. You can’t save him now.”

The hand that wasn’t pushing and twisting the sword into my abdomen came up to hold my face firmly so no amount of turning would get my head away from him. It only took seconds to feel the pain being pulled from the surface so the Nogitsune could feed off of it. The face swimming in front of my eyes looked absolutely euphoric. Both hands disappeared soon after that and the face started to come back into clarity.

“That wasn’t so bad was it? If you think about it, we’re doing you a favor really. Taking all the pain and suffering away from you.”

“We’re going to save him.”

“You all will die trying and then we will raze this pitiful town to the ground! There is nothing any of you can do about it.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Deaton melted out of the shadows and plunged a syringe directly into the side of Stiles’s neck. The Nogitsune spluttered and was entirely powerless against Deaton as the vet gently lowered the rapidly stilling body to the ground. As soon as the motionless body was resting on the ground, Deaton stood up and took a hold of the sword protruding from my abdomen. “Take a deep breath.”

I had barely managed to follow the vet’s direction before he was swiftly pulling the sword out and letting it clatter against the examination table. While I took time to get my bearings back, Deaton knelt down next to Scott and Kira so he could check them over. He promptly pull a small box out of one of his coat pockets then waved it directly under both their nose. Scott and Kira both came to with a small groan and confused expressions on their faces. I bent down to help Kira up who sent me a grateful smile when I leaned her against the examination table.

Scott, now standing as well, looked down at his best friend’s body on the floor. “Is it dead?”

“No. I merely poisoned the fox inside of him.”

“Will it hurt Stiles?”

“The poison I used will only effect the fox. Stiles is perfect safe from the effects.”

“Will the poison be enough to kill the nogitsune?”

“I’m afraid not. The Nogitsune is too powerful to kill with something like this. What I have managed to do is buy you time.”

“Time to do what? We’ve looked everywhere.”

“From what I understand, Chris Argent has contacts that may be able to help you. I suggest you explore that avenue before you give up any hope of helping Stiles.”

“I’m not giving up hope!”

Deaton nodded in agreement, but didn’t look like he bought what Scott said even for a second. “He will be groggy and weak when he comes to. I’m not sure how much he’ll remember.”

“We can take it from here. Thank you, Deaton.”

“When I became your mother’s emissary, I made a promise to protect this town and all those in it. I plan to uphold that promise.”

* * *

 

If I wasn’t able to hear the sounds of Stiles’s steadily beating heart, I might have thought that Stiles was lying that still for a completely different reason than him being asleep. Even in his deepest sleep, Stiles moved around or mumbled or twisted his face into a multitude of expression. Staying absolutely still was something that Stiles didn’t do unless he had no other choice. The only time I had seen him this still was when I was waiting for him to wake up after Matt shot him, a memory I didn’t like to dwell on.

“Hey there, Sourwolf. You miss me?” Stiles had an almost invisible smile on his lips and was gripping my hand weakly. “How’s my dad? He’s not working himself too hard is he?”

“He’s been worried about you. We all have. Relatively speaking though he’s fine and I think you know I missed you.”

“I remember.”

“Remember what?”

“Hurting you. Twisting the sword around so you would…” Tears bubbled up in the corner of Stiles’s eyes and he let out a watery sob. “I tried so hard to stop it. I tried to keep it from doing it, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything.”

“It’s alright. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, Derek. It’s the opposite of fine! It’s not.”

I knew empty platitudes would only send Stiles into a raging mess, so I did the only thing I could think of to calm him down. My body wrapped around his and held him tightly against my chest until the broken sobs finally ended and his breathing returned to normal. The fight in his body gave out and he melted right into the curve of my body. All the anxiety I had smelled on him earlier was gone, replaced by pure exhaustion.

“Can we just say good night and pretend like everything is normal? Pretend that I don’t have a centuries old evil fox spirit in me. Pretend that I just had a bad day at school and now my amazing boyfriend is trying to make me feel better. Pretend that the world isn’t falling apart around us. Just for tonight.”

I pressed a kiss to Stiles’s forehead then rested my chin against the top of his head. “Good night, Stiles.”

“Night, Derek.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	15. Chris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris goes to an old client for information on the Nogitsune.

Sheriff Stilinski pulled up a chair in front of my desk and took a seat, a haggard and desperate look on his face. “Tell me you’ve got something. For the past few weeks you’ve said you might know someone who can help up. It’s time to start talking.”

I nodded my head in agreement and motioned for the others, Allison, Isaac, Scott, Kira, and Lydia, to get comfortable. They all watched as I moved to unlock one of the many safety boxes I kept hidden around the room. I carefully lifted the delicately carved wood box out and set it gently on the desk where everyone could see it. I unlatched the box with no preamble and pulled back the black fabric that hid what was underneath.

“That’s one of the Oni masks.” Allison stepped forward to run one of her fingers along the edge of a broken shard. “How did you get this?”

“On my first deal, I went to Japan. I was supposed to make a deal with a powerful crime syndicate there-the Yakuza. However, when I arrived they were being attacked. Most of their men were already dead by the time I got there. The Oni were trying to get to the leader of the Yakuza, but I didn’t fully understand why until recently. At that point in time, I didn’t know that the Oni were there because the leader was being possessed by a nogitsune.”

“That doesn’t explain how you managed to kill one of the Oni.”

“I didn’t. Like I said most of the men there had already been killed, but not all of them. One of them, a man that now goes by the name Silverfinger, was staring one of the Oni head on. So I drew my weapon and I shot it right on the mask.”

“Then the mask shattered?”

“Yes.”

Lydia leaned forward in her seat so she could pick up one of the pieces and examine it closer. “What was behind the mask? You may not have managed to kill it, but you must have seen what was behind it.”

“Darkness. A black void.”

“What about the leader of the Kazooie or whatever you called them? What happened to him?”

“The Oni ran him through until they were sure he was dead, then they disappeared.”

“So if we don’t figure out a way to get the Nogitsune out of my son, they’re going to impale him until they’re sure the job is finished?”

“Yes.”

“You better have more than a story then.”

“I’ve been spending my time tracking Silverfinger. It just so happens that he’s in the area at the moment and I’ve laid out some bait for him.” I picked up one of the weapons I had on display in my office and placed it next to the box with the broken Oni mask. “This is a 1645 French flintlock turn-over pistol. Exactly the kind of thing that Katashi will be interested in.”

“So you make a deal for the weapon and then what?”

“If Katashi is going to be there like he said he would, I’ll remind him of the past and get all the information from him I can.”

“What if he’s not?”

“Katashi is a recluse. If he decides to have someone else carry out the deal like I expect him to, then I’ll move onto my backup plan.”

“I get the feeling I don’t want to know what your backup plan is.”

“Allison will help me and I’ll need one of the werewolves to carry out the deal. Someone who will be able to stall the dealer long enough for Allison and I to get to Katashi.”

All of the teenagers turned to look at Isaac who looked incredulously back at them. “You think I should do it? What about Scott? He’s been a werewolf longer than I have.”

“Kira and I are going to talk to her mom later. She wants me there to make sure her mom doesn’t lie about anything.”

“I don’t know how to make a deal.”

“It’s easy.” I clapped Isaac on the shoulder in reassurance. “I’ll tell you exactly what to say. I just need to know one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Do you have a suit?”

* * *

 

“I feel ridiculous. This makes me look like a little kid playing dress up. No one is going to take me seriously in there.” Isaac pulled at the baggy ends of the stark white dress shirt he was wearing and looked imploringly at Allison and I. “They’re never going to believe me and I don’t even understand what any of these words mean.”

“You don’t have to understand them. You just have to say them.”

“Before or after they laugh me out of the place.”

“Keep it professional and say exactly what I told you to. Everything will work out if you do those two things.”

“They’re going to fill me full of bullet holes.”

“No they won’t.” Allison stepped forward and grabbed the end of the dress shirt. “Because you’re not going to go in there acting like a scared little kid. You’re going to walk in there like you own the place, then you’re going smooth talk your way into getting them to buy this gun. You’re going to take control and do what need to be done. You want them to think you’re a man, act like a man. They won’t believe it unless you believe it.”

Isaac stared slack jawed at Allison and nodded in agreement while she tuck the dress shirt neatly into his pants. Her eyes trailed over his face thoughtfully for a few second before a little lightbulb went off in her head. Allison pulled open the driver’s side door and grabbed the pair of extra sunglasses I always kept in the center console. As soon as Allison held them out to Isaac, the werewolf obediently put them on and waited for her judgement.

“What do you think, dad? Look like a man you’d do business with?”

“Looks like a man I am doing business with.”

“Guess we’re good to go then.”

“One last thing.” I handed the bag with the gun and money counter to Isaac. “Don’t forget the fall back. The dealer might know all about this gun already. If he cuts you off and decides to go right ahead with the deal, count the money.”

“Got it. Give him the spiel and if that doesn’t work, count the money.”

“Now you’re ready.”

Isaac hitched the bag further up his shoulder and started to make his way towards the building’s entrance. “Be a man. Be a man.”

* * *

 

My arms wrapped tightly around one of the guard’s neck standing just inside the side entrance I had managed to break in through. I kept my hold tight on him for several seconds until the man stopped thrashing around and rested unconscious on the ground. The next guard went down just as easily as the first did leaving the rest of the hall clear. I quickly made my way around the corner and took out the small security camera at the end of the next hall.

Another guard came running down the hallway yelling angrily in Japanese as he did so. It took mere seconds to disarm the man and get him into a headlock. I used the man as a human shield as I made my way into the room I had seen the guard coming out of earlier. An elderly Japanese man was staring right at me with his gun already raised in my direction.

“I only came here to talk.”

“You have a strange way of showing it. I don’t take kindly to people breaking in and taking out my guards. Why should I listen to what you have to say?”

“Allison, take the man’s gun.” The end of Allison’s chain whip wrapped around the barrel of Katashi’s gun, then yanked it straight out of his hand. “About that talk.”

“I would not be so sure your plan went exactly as you wanted it to.”

“Guys.” Isaac was being held by a large man with one of his hands on Isaac’s neck. “They have a werewolf, too.”

I pulled the cloth I was keeping the Oni mask in out of my jacket pocket and took several steps closer to Katashi’s desk. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember me. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, but I think this will jog your memory.”

Katashi’s eyes went wide as he took in the broken pieces in front of him. He motioned for the man holding Isaac to let him go, then sat heavily down in his seat. His hand traced over one of the broken pieces with a distant look on his face.

“You saved my life that day. When I faced down the Oni that day, I wasn’t planning on fighting. I was going to run. That would have ruined my honor and I would have had to remove my head instead of my finger. I owe my honor to you. What is it you need?”

“Two things, but we’ll start with the Oni. Is there any way to stop them?”

“The Oni are a force of nature. You would not fight a tsunami. All you can do is weather the storm.”

“There’s nothing?”

“No manmade weapon can kill them.”

“Then on to our next topic. What do you know about nogitsune?”

“The dark kitsune. It is a trickster spirit known for leaving chaos and destruction in its wake. If that is what you are up against, then I suggest you let the Oni do their job.”

“That’s not an option. The Nogitsune is possessing one of our own. A teenage boy.”

“You are hoping to remove the spirit from him?” Katashi looked between the three of us warily. “I have never heard of it happening. I’m sure you remember what happened to the previous leader of the Yakuza. There is something though.”

“What would that be?”

“I happen to own a scroll that tells how one might save someone from the possession of a nogitsune. I do not know if what on the scroll is correct though. After what happened in Japan, I thought it was best to be prepared. Just in case.”

“What does the scroll say?”

Katashi removed the silver finger from his pinkie and carefully rolled the scroll he pulled out of it onto the desk. “It is simple really. To dispel the nogitsune from its host, change the body.”

“How are we supposed to change his body?” Isaac’s face was pinched up in confusion. “I think Stiles might have a problem with us cutting his arm off.”

“There is more than one way to change someone’s body. I cannot tell you what will work best for your ally. You must be the ones to determine that.”

“Derek’s going to be happy to hear that.”

“I am sorry I cannot help you more. I owe you my life. Should you need further help, I will do what I can.”

“Thank you.” I bowed my head towards Katashi, then motioned for Isaac and Allison to follow me out the door.

“Nogitsune are powerful beings. The longer you wait to make your decision, the more danger you and everyone around you will be in. Remember that.”

* * *

 

The atmosphere in the car was understandably tense the entire drive back to Beacon Hills. The only time anyone talked was when Allison informed me that everyone would be waiting for us at the Stilinski household to hear how the meeting went. Allison spent a majority of the ride texting with a worried expression on her face, while Isaac stared aimless out the window. As soon as I put the car into park outside of the Stilinski’s house, the two teenagers were out of the car and making their way to the front door.

By the time I finally made my way into the house, Allison and Isaac were already seated and telling the others what happened. Lydia was avidly listening to the two and if the red head had a pencil, I’m sure she would have been scribbling down notes. I moved around the room until I stood next to Sheriff Stilinski who looked more exhausted than he had this morning. He managed a tired smile and a thankful nod in my direction before going back to listening to Allison speak.

“He said the only way he had found to release someone from the possession of a nogitsune was to change the body.”

“Those were his exact words?”

“Yes. He also told us that there’s more than one way to change a body.”

“I suggested cutting off Stiles’s arm.”

Stiles glared at Isaac and crossed his arms stubbornly across his chest. “Derek might be okay with getting his arm chopped off, but I’m kind of attached to mine.”

“We could turn him into a werewolf.”

“Excuse me?”

“The bite changes a person’s body right? That’s why Erica stopped having seizures, why Scott doesn’t have asthma anymore. The bite changes the body and since your boyfriend is an alpha it’s an obvious solution.”

“Stiles doesn’t want the bite and it could still kill him.”

“Getting the bite would be better than having the Nogitsune in him.”

“I think that’s for Stiles to decide.”

“If the bite could still kill him, then it shouldn’t even be an option. The whole point to this was to find a way to save Stiles, not risk his life more.”

“Other people could get hurt. The Nogitsune set off a small bomb at the Sheriff’s Department, imagine what it could do on a bigger scale given more time.”

“Guy!” Stiles effortlessly raised his voice above everyone else trying to talk over one another and stood up. “Look, I appreciate all the help. I really do, but even if I took the bite and it worked there’s still one problem. We can’t guarantee that the Nogitsune won’t just jump to somebody else. Biting everyone that gets possessed wouldn’t go over well. Plus what happens if the Nogitsune decides to control one of the werewolves? How would we change their body?”

“We have to do something. Letting the Nogitsune run free would be worse than doing nothing.”

“I know. That’s why I’ve already made my decision. I made it last night and my dad and I talked about it this morning.”

“What is it you’ve decided?” Lydia had her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Stiles who immediately started to shift uncomfortably under her gaze.

“I wasn’t even planning on bringing it up because I know most of you will argue with me and try to get me to change my mind. The thing is, I’m not going to change my mind. I’ve already got everything ready and I think it’s best if I don’t tell you what I’ve decided to do.”

“You’re going to withhold information from us. The people who are trying to help you!”

“Lyds, I’m trying to do the right thing and I can’t have you all fighting me about it. Do you think my dad would let me do it if it was something dangerous or completely outrageous?”

“You better be right about this.”

“If anyone should be worried, it should be me. The alpha pack is still trolling around town.”

“Ethan and Aiden have agreed to help us.”

“That still leaves Deucalion and Kali. One of which is dead set on tearing Derek’s throat out with her nasty velociraptor toenails. Honestly, I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to do it already.”

“According to the twins, Deucalion has been waiting for the Nogitsune to make its first move.”

“And now it has. Deucalion isn’t going to do anymore waiting around.”

“No, he isn’t.”

* * *

 

It didn’t take long for the sombre mood in the living room to dissipate and be replaced with the sound of the teenagers’ laughter. The sound of Allison laughing and joking around was enough to make a small smile grace my lips. I followed the lead of the other two parents in the room and made my way into the kitchen so the group could have their semi-privacy.

Sheriff Stilinski motioned for Melissa and I to sit down, while he made his way to the fridge. The man placed three beers down in the middle of the table and took the seat closest to Melissa. I made quick work of popping off the three caps and passing them around the table. The three of us sat in silence for several minutes just drinking beer and enjoying the momentary peace we had managed to get. Melissa was the first to put her bottle back on the table with a muffled thud. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and flicked her eyes between Sheriff Stilinski and I.

“Am I the only one wishing our kids had regular teenage problems like not knowing what to wear or not knowing how to impress the person they like?”

“I’d say yes, but Stiles has never been normal. I’m sad to say I’m used to it by now.”

“I’m not sure.” I picked absentmindedly at the damp label on the bottle. “On the one hand, Allison would be a lot safer if she wasn’t mix up in all of this supernatural business. On the other, I don’t have to worry about any guy taking advantage of her because she can just shoot them with her crossbow.”

“Facing down terrifying werewolves or handsy teenage boys. I can see how you have a hard time deciding.”

“When you put it like that, I definitely prefer Allison knowing about the supernatural.”

“I don’t blame you. If Stiles was a girl, I would have locked her up a long time ago. Mainly because if Stiles was a girl she would no doubt manage to get into twice as much trouble.”

“And I know exactly why that is.” Melissa chuckled and looked directly at me. “If Stiles was a girl, Claudia would have groomed her from a young age to use everything she had to her advantage. You think Stiles is bad now, a girl version of Stiles would have been way worse. It probably would have been one of the signs of the apocalypse.”

“You sure the one in there isn’t?”

“Jury’s still out on that one. Although, he seems to have turned out find, restraining order aside.”

“I thought Jackson had his father nullify those.”

“He did, but I enjoy watching the vein in John’s head pop out when someone brings it up.”

Sheriff Stilinski pointed an accusatory finger at Melissa, but the seriousness of the gesture was ruined by the playful smile on his face. “You’re an evil woman, Melissa.”

“It keeps me up at night.”

“Sure. For the few seconds it takes you to fall asleep.”

“I never said it keeps me up long.” Melissa took another swig of her beer and glanced at the Sheriff out of the corner of her eye. “Are we going to keep ignoring the elephant in the room?”

“I don’t know which elephant you would be referring to.”

“The one that has to do with whatever plan Stiles came up with. You might have agreed with it, but I know you’re not comfortable with it.”

“I’m sure Chris would rather talk about something else like baseball or the weather or something else exceedingly manly.”

The sound of someone snorting loudly caused all of our attention to move to the door that went from the kitchen to the living room. Stiles was leaning against the doorframe with a huge smirk on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. A small duffle bag was resting at his feet and he was moving impatiently side to side.

“If you’re done ensuring that Mama McCall knows you still have your man card, we should get going. We’re going to be late if we don’t leave now.”

“I’ll be out in a second. Grab my keys for me.”

Stiles nodded his headed and disappeared back out the way he had come in. “He’ll be fine, John. Stiles can take care of himself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	16. Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles check into Eichen House and, unsurprisingly, things go to hell.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

I gently pried my dad’s fingers away from his steering wheel. “It’s only for seventy-two hours. It’s not like you’re just dumping me off here and leaving forever. Plus, I’m the one who thought of this in the first place.”

“I don’t like it. What if something happens to you while you’re in there? I can’t help you while you’re in there.”

“I’ll be fine. I know you’ve been worrying the whole time I’ve been gone and I hate doing this to you. Coming back only to leave again, but I need to do this. It’s our best option right now and I can’t be responsible for anyone else getting hurt. I get that this isn’t easy for you, so I really appreciate you trusting me to do what I think is right even if it hurts you.”

“Do you remember what your mother always used to say? The only way to learn is to fail.”

“Sometimes that means a scrap on the knee and sometimes it means looking in the mirror and not recognizing yourself. It’s terrifying, but life isn’t lived behind closed doors.”

“She always knew what to say to make things better. Always knew when to let you make your own decisions.”

“I think you’re doing a pretty good job.”

“You’re my son, you’re supposed to tell me that.”

“Actually, I’m a teenager and I’m pretty sure that means I’m supposed to say terrible stuff like ‘I hate you’ because you won’t let me go to a party or something.”

“Instead, I have to deal with werewolves and kanimas and Oni and a Nogitsune. I’m not sure which is worse.”

“Things will work out.”

“I think we both know you can’t promise that.”

“I know.” I gave my dad a wry smile and picked my stuffed duffle bag up off of the floor. “I also know that we’re both masters at avoiding painful situations until they finally go away. Now, no more talking. We are going to go in there, you are going to check me in, then I am going to spend the next three days coming up with a concrete plan to send the Nogitsune taking a vacation in my brain packing.”

“If you’re really sure about this.”

“Dad.”

“I’m your father. I’m always going to worry about you, especially when you want me to check you into the spookiest place in Beacon Hills.  Even before I knew about the supernatural, I would have sworn this place was haunted.”

“I worry about you too. It’s part of the reason I’m doing this.”

“It’s not-”

“My job to worry about you. That doesn’t mean I don’t. You’re the only family I have left and I’m the only family you have left. We worry about each other. That’s what family does.”

“You got me there kid. Now I’m going to get out of this car before I change my mind and drive you home with the doors locked until you agree to change your mind.”

“And you wonder why I’m so dramatic.”

* * *

 

“You must be Stiles.” The middle-aged woman in front of me looked at me with obvious disinterest and completely ignoring the worried father standing next to me. “If you two will follow me, we can complete the necessary paperwork and go over how this is going to work.”

The woman ushered us through the main room where several people wearing dark grey shirts and light grey sweatpants were standing around. When we passed under the stairs, I looked up to see someone leaning over the railing on the very top floor. The expression on his face could only be described as blank and he appeared to be swaying unsteadily side to side. I was so distracted by the person above me, I missed the person heading right towards me until they slammed into me.

I was about to apologize to whoever it was, but the person was pulled off me by two burly men wearing white before I got the chance. My dad reached out his hand with a worried look on his face so I made sure to put on the most reassuring smile I had to try to relax him some. The smile I gave him must not have helped at all because my dad took a hold of my elbow in his hand and didn’t let go until we reached the woman’s office. The woman closed the door firmly behind us then took a seat in the metal office chair behind her desk.

“Welcome to Eichen House. Your paperwork says you’re here for a seventy-two hour stay. Is this correct?”

“Yes.”

“Before you and your father sign the paperwork, I need to go over a few things with you. We do not allow phone calls during a seventy-hour stay. All sharp objects including keys will not be allowed during your stay. Belts, shoe laces, and anything else that could be used to harm yourself or another person is not allowed. All personal items that fit those two categories will be put into a locker for you and returned to you when you leave. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent. You will be given a set of clothes and shoes that you will be wearing while here. During your stay here you will be rooming with another male individual. Do you have any questions?”

“No.”

The woman flipped the papers in front of her around and held a pen out to me. “Print your name clearly on the line that says patient name and then sign on the line directly under it.”

I quickly followed the woman’s instructions then waited patiently while my dad did the same on the parent or guardian lines. As soon as my dad was finished, the woman snatched up the papers and placed an empty box on the desk for my prohibited items. I placed everything I had other than the clothes I was wearing into the box making sure to avoid eye contact with my dad as I did so. When I finished, I looked directly into the woman’s eyes and followed her lead after she stood up.

“If you’ll come with me I’ll take you to get your clothes, then we’ll get you settled into the room you’ll be staying in for the next three days.”

“Wait.” My dad was looking frantically into the bag of underwear and blankets I had packed. “We forgot your pillow.”

“It’s fine. Dad, it’s fine.”

“You can’t sleep without your pillow.”

“I’ll be fine. I can survive three days without my pillow.”

“We should go home.”

“No. It’s fine. I don’t need my pillow. I’m sure they have pillows here. Plus I’m already signed in. You can go. I’ll be alright.”

“We should really-”

“Dad. Go home.”

* * *

 

I fell into the firm bed I was assigned to with a sigh and stared blankly at stark white ceiling directly above my head. The person in the bed next to me was already snoring loudly into their pillow making it difficult to even think about getting some sleep. I squeezed my eyes shut and twisted my fingers tightly into the bedding while I counted slowly down from a hundred in my head. The sound of snoring slowly melted away into nothing and my grip on the sheets loosened as I fell asleep.

_“Stiles. Stiles. You need to wake up now. It’s time to wake up.”_

_“Five more minutes.”_

_“You said that five minutes ago, sweetheart.” A gentle hand ran through my hair until I finally cracked open my eyes. “There are those pretty eyes I love so much. If you hurry, I might be able to make you pancakes.”_

_“Why do I have to get up? It’s Saturday. Can’t I sleep in?”_

_“We have things to do. Get dressed. Come on! Up! Up! Up!”_

_I batted playfully at the bouncing person and rolled out of bed as soon as the laughing person closed my bedroom door behind them. For several seconds I stayed with my face planted firmly into the musty smelling carpet, until I could hardly breathe anymore. I pushed myself off of the floor and stumbled around my room while I attempted to get dressed without falling on my face._

_As soon as my shirt was pulled securely over my head, I made my way down the stairs and towards the sound of my mom bustling around in the kitchen. My mom looked up from the pancake she was about to flip over and smiled brightly. I watched my mom finish up the pancakes from my seat at the small kitchen table while she hummed to fill up the comfortable silence. A golden pancake was slid onto my plate followed by one slid onto my mom’s across the table from me._

_“How did you sleep last night? I know you’ve been having trouble sleeping and you haven’t wanted to bother your father or I.”_

_“I slept alright.”_

_“You know you can talk about it with me, sweetheart. I won’t judge.”_

_“I know that, mom. I don’t really want to talk about it.”_

_My mom took my hand in her own and squeezed tightly. “That’s perfectly fine. I just want to make sure you know I’m here if you ever decide you want to talk about it.”_

_“Okay.”_

_“Okay. Now eat your pancake before it gets cold.”_

_I smiled brightly and started to munch happily on the pancake drowned in syrup on my plate. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my mom watching me with a smile on her face while she ate. Once I was done eating, I pushed my plate away and rested my head on my arms so I could patiently watch my mom finish eating. My mom gave a little wink when she noticed me waiting and made a show out of pushing her plate away when she was done._

_“We can do the dishes or we could leave them for later. Your choice.”_

_“Leave them.”_

_“That’s what I thought. I don’t know why I even bothered to ask.”_

_My mom slammed her hands playfully onto the table causing the neckline on her shirt to dip to the side revealing a strange, black pattern running up her neck. The pattern was covered up just as quickly as it was revealed by my mom readjusting her shirt. She gave me a strange look when she noticed me looking right at the spot she had covered up._

_“What’s wrong?”_

_“There was something on your neck. What is it?”_

_“Nothing, sweetheart. Don’t worry about me. You should be worried about you.”_

_“Why?”_

_“You still haven’t woken up.”_

_“What do you mean?_

_“You’re still asleep, silly. You’re supposed to wake up.”_

_“I…” I stood up from my chair so fast I ended up knocking it over. “I’m asleep. I need to wake up. I have to wake up.”_

_“That’s what I’ve been telling you. It’s time to wake up, Stiles.”_

_“Wake up, wake up, wake up!”_

I bolted up right in bed with my chest heaving and sweat drenching my t-shirt making it stick grossly to chest. It took several minutes to get my breathing under control, at which point I realized someone was staring at me. When I turned my head to find the person, I nearly startled at the boy in the bed across from me looking at me with such an intense expression on his face. I cleared my throat wearily and was more than a little happy when the boy left as soon as he noticed my mouth beginning to open.

* * *

 

A shrill shrieking made me want nothing more than to drown myself in the bowl of bland porridge I had been given for breakfast. Two burly orderlies like the ones I had seen the night before grabbed a hold of the screaming girl and dragged her out of the room. I watched the whole ordeal with disinterest until the girl was dragged past a familiar looking blonde head. I was almost convinced that my mind was playing tricks on me, but when the head turned around I definitely recognized the face. There might not have been the usual makeup covering it, but it was definitely Erica.

Before my mind could even catch up to the situation, I was taking the seat next to Erica without bothering to ask permission. The girl looked at me strangely for a second, then went right back to eating the disgusting food. I shifted my seat around so I was facing Erica instead of the table, but this didn’t even cause her to pause let alone look at me.

“Erica. Erica. Erica. Why are you ignoring me?” I dipped my head down to try to get a glance at Erica’s face only to pull back after a low growl. “What’s with the growling? The full moon isn’t for another two weeks.”

“What does the moon have anything to do with it?”

“The moon kind of has a lot to do with it. You’re a werewolf.”

“How did you know that?”

“Seriously? I was the one who suggested Derek give you the bite.”

“Who’s Derek?”

“Erica?” I slowly placed my hand on her shoulder to try to avoid any potential mauling. “What do you remember?”

“Why should I tell you? For all I know, you work for them and you’re only here to make sure that I’m not telling anybody else about them or their plans.”

“Working for who? The Alpha Pack? They wiped your memories didn’t they? It would make sense. They did the same thing to Isaac after he found out where they were keeping Boyd and Cora.”

“So you’re not working for the Alpha Pack?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then what are you doing here? You were obviously surprised to see me here which means you didn’t come here to get me out. What are you doing here?”

I checked over my shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping on our conversation. “Things have kind of gone downhill since the Alpha Pack took you and Boyd. You don’t remember this, but a few months ago I was shot. It wouldn’t have been a big deal considering I lived, except it opened my mind to some ancient Japanese demon fox that has been using my body to wreak havoc all over town. Deaton found a way to poison the fox, but he couldn’t kill it.”

“Why would you come here?”

“Not too long ago I had thought that I sleepwalked into an industrial looking basement with the Nogitsune, that’s what it’s called, down there with me. Lydia, who’s a banshee, was convinced that I was in the basement of this building.”

“Where were you really?”

“Turns out I was still dreaming, even when I was calling them. I was actually in the middle of the forest freezing to death.”

“So you dreamt that you were in a basement and your banshee friend sensed or whatever you call it that you were in this basement?”

“Exactly and it’s too much of a coincidence not to look into.”

“You came here to check out the creepy basement because it might or might not be connected to the Japanese demon living inside your head?”

“Yes.”

“Well that might be a bit of a problem.”

“Why?”

“You see that guy?” Erica pointed to a pinched faced man that had his arms crossed against his chest in an obvious attempt to make himself look more foreboding. “He has the only set of keys to the basement door. The only way you’ll be able to get those keys is to literally take them off of his body. He never puts them down.”

“That certainly makes things more difficult than I was originally anticipating.”

“You don’t sound very concerned though.”

“I’m kind of the plan guy. I’ll come up with something.”

* * *

 

It seemed like my morning was going to be spent staring off into space while I came up with a plan to get the key to the basement, but this was ruined when one of the workers informed me I had to attend a mandatory counselling session. Erica gave me a huge smirk from her place curled up on the window seat across from me and only offered a sarcastic wave at my helpless look. I tried to send Erica a glare, but the orderly was already leading me down the hallway by my arm. The door he stopped in front of looked exactly like every other door in the hallway down to the frosted windows and metal door handle. He gave my shoulder a firm push when I didn’t immediately open the door and practically stomped down the hallway as soon as I did.

“Stiles.” A familiar looking woman was sitting with her legs crossed in a small plastic chair in the center of the room. “Have a seat.”

“Ms. Morell. What are you doing here? I thought you were a councilor for the school.”

“I volunteer as an extra councilor here in my free time. Deaton told me you would be coming here and he wanted someone to keep an eye on you.”

“You volunteered?”

“I owe him a favor.”

“Awesome. Really feeling the love. So what are we going to talk about? The weather?”

“I think we have other things to talk about like the pattern on your neck.”

“What pattern?” I tugged down the collar of my shirt and looked down to see a strangely familiar black pattern marring my skin. “What in the world?”

“It’s called a Lichtenberg figure. It’s something typically seen on lightning strike victims. It’s strange that it would appear on you after you were injected with the Wolf Lichen.”

“Good strange or bad strange.”

“Both. I believe it is a sign of how much the poison is effecting the Nogitsune.”

“Meaning when it goes away the Nogitsune will be able to take control of me again.”

“I believe so.”

I tapped my fingers nervously against the arm of my chair. “Is there any way to put it off? I know this is only a temporary solution, but there has to be some way to prolong it.”

“There is one thing.”

“And that is…”

“Your mind is at its most vulnerable when you’re sleeping. If you want the Wolf Lichen to last for as long as possible, then stay awake.”

“Stay awake. That shouldn’t be too hard. I’m the master of staying awake.”

* * *

 

“How was your session? Did your councilor try to unravel the inner workings of your fragile mind to help cure you of your sickness?”

“I thought I was the jaded one and no she didn’t considering my councilor was Ms. Morell.”

“Who is that?”

“She’s Deaton’s sister. We had a little chat about what this thing on my neck means and how I’m going to keep the Nogitsune from taking back over.”

“Did you also happen to come up with a plan to get into the basement?”

“No, but I think I might have one. I’ve got the perfect distraction and I know you’ll have no problem getting the keys off of his belt.”

“What makes you think I’m going to help you?”

“You might not remember me, but you’re the Catwoman to my Batman. I know I can count on you and your sticky fingers.” I rounded the corner of the hallway we were waking down to see a girl talking into a payphone. “Do those things actually work?”

“No. I don’t even know why they’re there.”

“She certainly doesn’t seem to notice.”

“Her name’s Meredith. She talks to herself a lot and sometimes she’ll scream then babble about someone dying.”

“Sounds like a bucket full of sunshine.”

“I really think I should tell them about what’s going on. It’s only fair that they get a warning about what’s about to happen.” Meredith paused for a second like someone was actually talking to her on the other end. “They’re both standing right behind me. If you really think it’s for the best though, I won’t say anything to them. Of course. I promise not to tell them. Yes. Talk to you soon.”

Erica and I both watched as Meredith hung up the phone and turned to look at us for a moment before strolling down the hall. I picked up the phone Meredith had been using experimentally and pressed it to my ear. Not even the faintest hint of a dial tone was coming out of the small speaker in the earpiece on the phone. I put the phone back and shrugged at Erica when she raised an eyebrow at me.

“What’s the harm in giving it a try?”

“There’s the fact you look like an idiot.”

“Nice to know the alphas didn’t take your sparkling personality away.”

“Are you going to tell me what your brilliant plan is or am I going to have to guess?”

* * *

 

My eyes surveyed the dining hall for the perfect pair to carry out my ridiculously amazing and well-thought-out plan. I could practically feel Erica boring holes into the back of my head from her position directly behind me while she waited impatiently for me to find a pair. I was about to internally say screw it and go with the backup plan, when I noticed my roommate from earlier and a squirrelly looking kid sitting a few feet away from me.

My roommate was staring down at the table blankly and wringing his hands together in a way that looked almost painful. The boy next to him was nervously glancing around like he was expecting someone to come out of nowhere and attack him. There was no doubt in my mind I could get the two of them to do exactly what I wanted them to. I checked to make sure the orderly in charge of the keys was still standing by the door, then headed over to two teens. My eyes made contact with Erica right before I dropped into a seat across from the two.

“You know I never caught your name this morning. You left the room before I could ask.”

“Oliver.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Stiles.”

“Sure.” Oliver went back to staring at the table and wringing his hands.

“Is there anything I should know? Any rules you have about your stuff? Want me to stay on my side of the room?”

“I don’t care.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Is your friend alright? He looks pretty freaked out about something.”

Oliver looked to his left with disinterest. “He’s fine.”

“If you say so. If he was my friend, I would be worried about him. That’s just me though.”

“I said he’s fine.”

“Hey.” I lifted my hands up in mock surrender. “No need to jump down my throat. I just wanted to be sure. It looks like he could use a friend that’s actually there for him.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the friend now glaring at Oliver with the hatred of a thousand fiery suns. I stood up from the table with my shoulders slumped and started to make my way out of the dining hall. Right as I stepped out of the door, I heard the sound of two chairs being knocked over followed by a fist making contact with skin. A loud voice boomed out over the sounds of the scuffle telling the two people fighting to break it up.

After I ducked safely behind the staircase like Erica had suggested, I let a wide grin break out over my face. There was no doubt in my mind my plan had worked and any second now Erica would be strutting around the corner with the keys in hand. Minutes trickled by slowly making me feel nervous to the point I felt like exploding, but just like I had expected Erica appeared keys in hand. She dropped the keys straight into my waiting hand and took a seat next to me on the floor.

“What next boss?”

“You’re having way too much fun with this.”

“I’ve spent the last three months in this hellhole. Fun hasn’t really been something I’ve had in a while.”

“Fair enough. As for what to do next, we get into that basement.”

* * *

 

An awful smell hit both of us as soon as I opened the door to the basement wide enough for both of us to slip through. I searched blindly around on the wall for a light switch until my hand finally bumped against a switch. It took several seconds for the lights to flicker on after I flipped the switch on revealing a grimy industrial basement exactly like the one I had seen in my dream. Despite the fact I was practically wearing slippers, each step I took down the stairs made a large thunking sound. Once both my feet we planted on cement floor a shiver ran down my spine.

At Erica’s persistence I started forward and began looking for the place I had been in my nightmare. I looped around an ancient boiler giving off absolutely no heat to find a familiar set of pipes attached to a dirty wall. I was bent down examining the dusty ground for footprints when Erica broke the silence with a strange noise.

“Is this what you’re looking for?”

My breath hitched at the sight of a backwards five scratched into the concrete wall directly across from where I had been lying in the nightmare. “That’s where it was standing.”

“Where what was standing?”

“The Nogitsune. I remember it standing over there. I couldn’t see what it was doing though because it was dark.”

“What’s it mean?”

“Self.”

“Why would a demon fox thing carve self into a wall?” Erica traced of the symbol with her finger, then tapped her knuckle experimentally against it. “Do you hear that?”

“It sounds hollow.”

“One way to find out if it is or not.”

Erica balled her hand up into a fist and slammed it right in the middle of the symbol causing the wall to immediately give way. A cloud of dust and debris swirled in the air around the hole making it impossible to see what was inside the hole until it finally settled. It probably should have shocked me more than it did that a body wrapped in a brown leather bomber jacket was crammed in the small space. Bandages were covering the body’s hands and face with a hole cut where the person’s mouth would have been.

“Who do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. Maybe who the Nogitsune possessed last time.”

“Why would he put self to mark the body if he was just possessing it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you know anything?”

I glared at Erica who didn’t look phased in the slightest. “It’s not like there’s a book on being possessed by a trickster spirit. I’m trying my best here.”

“No need to get defensive. What are you going to do now? You’ve checked out the basement like you wanted to. Is it on to the next clue?”

“There has to be something more to this. A power play, a hint at his next move, something.”

“Or maybe it’s just a body.”

“A body is never just a body. The Nogitsune is up to something, but what?”

“Whatever.” Erica rolled her eyes. “You can stay here and try to figure this out. I’m going to go sleep on that couch I saw. It’s probably disgusting, but it’s better than the floor. Most likely.”

* * *

 

A wave of grogginess rolled through my body, but the sound of clanging and someone breathing heavily was quickly breaking through the grogginess. I was about to try to open my eyes to see who was making all the noise when something occurred to me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember falling asleep. I remembered Erica and the body and searching for something that would give me some idea as to why the body was so important and then nothing.

I forced my eyes open and turned my head towards where the sound had been. Oliver was standing over Erica with what looked to be a drill in his hand. His lips were moving like he was talking to someone, but I couldn’t see anyone and at that volume they would have to be standing right next to him to hear. I tried to stand up only to be stopped by something tied firmly around my wrists and ankles that I hadn’t noticed before. I pulled hard at the wrist restraints and let out a frustrated groan when I didn’t get even the tiniest bit of leeway.

“They won’t come off. I made sure to do them exactly like he told me to.” Oliver was now standing right in front of me brandishing the drill like a harmless child’s toy. “I’ve done everything he’s told me to.”

“Someone forgot to take their medication today.”

“I’m doing what he asked. He made a promise.”

“What promise would that be?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“I’m doing what he told me to.” Oliver moved to stand back in front of Erica, but with the drill held higher this time.

“What are you doing?”

“He said it’s the only way to get you to do what he wants.”

“Put the drill down, Oliver. She has nothing to do with any of this. Let her go.”

“I know she’s a werewolf. He told me.”

I pulled desperately on the restraints trying with all my might to pull free so I could stop Oliver from hurting Erica. The restraints loosened up a little, but not nearly enough for me to pull my hands free from their confines. Oliver was brushing Erica’s hair away from her face when nails dragging over metal echoed through the basement. I didn’t have to look to know that the Nogitsune was coming up behind me.

“We can save her, Stiles. There’s one thing you need to do.”

“No. This isn’t real. You’re not here.”

“The poison wore off, Stiles.”

“No. It didn’t. It couldn’t have. I would have known.”

“We want back in, Stiles. If you don’t let us in, we’ll have him kill her.”

I looked at a slowly stirring Erica, then to Oliver who was steadily getting closer and closer to Erica’s head with the drill. “No.”

“Let us in.”

“No.”

“Let us in.”

“No!”

“Let us in!” Suddenly the Nogitsune had both his hands braced on my arms so he could lean his face inches in front of mine. “Let us in! Let us in! Let us in!”

Tears prickled in the corner of my eyes as the realization that I had no other choice, but to do what the Nogitsune said. I sucked in a deep breath and squeezed my eyes tightly shut so I wouldn’t have to look the Nogitsune in the face. I let my entire body relax and reminded myself that I was saving Erica as everything went white.

* * *

 

Our fingers flexed experimentally against the hard plastic covering on the arm of the chair we were tied to. We easily broke out of our restraints and rubbed at the now sore skin to help take some of the sting away. Oliver was too busy carrying out our orders to notice that we had gotten what we wanted. We grabbed a hold of the hand Oliver was holding the drill in, then took the no longer whirling device from him. Erica groaned and opened her eyes, a look of confusion crossing her face as she looked between the two of us.

“Stiles? What’s happening?”

“We’re assuming you’ll be returning to Derek now that you know he’s your alpha.”

“We? You and Oliver are-”

“Oliver is of no use to us anymore. He was a means to an end. We do have a message though.” We plunge the drill into Oliver’s neck, let it spin for a second, and then let Oliver fall to the ground in front of us when he couldn’t stand on his own anymore. “Tell Derek not to look for us. It will be a waste of his time. We’ll talk to him soon enough.”

“You’re not Stiles.”

“No. We’re something much more.”

“What are you going to do with him?”

“I would be more concerned about you and your friends. One more thing.” I unlatched the restraints around Erica’s ankles and wrists. “Tell Lydia not to hold it in. It will only be more painful when it finally happens if she does.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	17. Lydia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia starts to look into what being a banshee means and an old friend comes back.

Allison set the stack of books in the middle of her bed along with the two bags of candy and sugar filled drinks she had brought. She took a seat next to me and grabbed the first book in the stack, but made no move to open the front cover. Instead of taking the next book in the stack, I took the bag of Swedish Fish and popped a few of them in my mouth. When I offered one to Allison, she shook her head and began to tap nervously against the book.

“I don’t know why you’re acting so worried.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Knowing is better than not knowing, even if what I learn is horrible. I need to understand this better.”

“What if it makes things worse? You have a connection with death. Is that really something you want to explore? It could be dangerous.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Plus, this is who I am. You’re a hunter. Jackson, Scott, Derek, Isaac, Boyd, and Cora are all werewolves. Kira’s a kitsune. You’ve all accepted who you are. I have to do the same and the last step in doing that is understanding more about what I am.”

“You also think it will help Stiles.”

“It helped Stiles before, it could help him again.”

“And if you don’t end up finding something that will help him. What then? He already said he doesn’t want to be turned into a werewolf. We have no way of helping him.”

“To every problem, there is a solution.” I opened to the table of contents in the book I had just grabbed out of the pile and flicked to the section about banshees. “Sometimes it requires patience and out of the box thinking, but there is always a solution. You know who taught me that?”

“Stiles.”

“Exactly. I’m not giving up on him. Changing him into a werewolf can’t possibly be the only way we can change his body. It’s just the easiest solution. There have to be other options.”

“What about that thing Deaton said about Stiles?”

“What thing?”

“Didn’t he say Stiles had something? Something that allowed him to use the mountain ash that night at the rave.”

“He said he had a spark.”

“What if we found some way to tap into that spark? Would that count as changing his body? It is already a part of his body.”

“It could still work. Think of the spark like it’s a muscle. When you work out your muscle tears and then repairs itself. When it repairs it gets bigger and the anatomy of the muscle changes depending on the type of exercise being done. If a spark works like that, then triggering it will change his body.”

“How do we know if his spark works like that or not?”

“There’s only one person I can think of that even knew that Stiles had a spark in the first place and he’ll be vague about every question we ask him.”

“So what do we do? I haven’t seen any mention of a spark in any of my family’s books and I doubt we’ll be able to find anything about it online. A spark is a little vague.”

“Actually… There is one other person who might know.” Allison scrunched her face up in confusion and tapped her finger thoughtfully against her book. “Morrell. She’s a druid just like Deaton is. My guess is she knows all about Stiles and his spark.”

“That may be true, but she’s working with the Alpha Pack. If Deucalion or Kali find out she’s been helping us, they’ll rip her to pieces.”

“It’s a good thing we’ve got Ethan and Aiden on our side then.”

“What if Morrell says it wouldn’t work? We have no idea how long that poison Deaton gave Stiles will work on the Nogitsune.”

I looked back down at the book I had opened earlier. “We look for some other way to change him. First, we start doing research to figure out what all being a banshee entails.”

“And you’re sure you want to do this?”

“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. It’s time to figure out what the Nogitsune wants from me.”

* * *

 

Jackson shoved the door of the loft open so it ended up banging against the other side and immediately started to slide back. Cora sent Jackson a dirty look from her seat between Isaac and Boyd on the couch, while Derek didn’t even bother to look up from the large book he was reading. Allison and Kira both gave a friendly wave from their spot on the floor by the table and Danny sent Jackson a disapproving look. I took one step into the loft only to slam right into Jackson’s back.

A low growl vibrated through Jackson’s chest and he widened his stance so I was now completely hidden behind his body. I rolled my eyes at the territorial display and pushed past Jackson before he had the chance to pull me behind him again. It became immediately obvious why Jackson was quick to put his body in between me and the rest of the room. The twins were sitting next to each other on the small loveseat with identical looks of boredom on their faces. I gave the two an acknowledging head nod, then had a seat on the futon Danny was leaning his back against.

“Where’s Scott?”

“He was taking his mom dinner at the hospital. He’ll be here soon.”

“He better be. I don’t have all night.”

“I’m here.” Scott came tumbling into the room in a way so similar to Stiles my heart squeezed tightly in my chest. “You didn’t start without me did you? I didn’t miss anything?”

“No, now sit down. Allison and I came up with an idea last night that will require the twins help.”

“An idea to help Stiles?”

“Yes. Will you stop talking now so I can tell you our idea?”

“Sorry.”

“Since Stiles doesn’t want to become a werewolf, Allison and I thought of a different way that we might be able to change Stiles’s body to get rid of the Nogitsune. We’ll need the twins to ask Morrell some questions for us.”

“Why don’t you just ask Deaton?”

I glared at Scott for interrupting me and waited until he looked sheepishly at me before answering him. “Deaton has a tendency to avoid giving us straight answers. We can’t afford to carry out this plan with our guns half-cocked. Stiles’s life is at risk. We need a straight answer. Something Deaton is unwilling to give us.”

“You think Morrell will?”

“I think it’s more likely that Morrell will give us blatant honesty than Deaton and that’s exactly what we need right now.”

“What’s your idea?” Derek was leaning forward in his chair with his elbows resting on his knees. “He’s not going to go for being turned into a different supernatural creature like a werefox.”

“We think tapping into Stiles’s spark will change his body in a way that will cause the Nogitsune to be forced out of his body. That’s what we need Morrell for. To tell us whether it will and if so, how to do it.”

“You really think that will work?”

“I think at this point in time it’s the best solution we have. It keeps Stiles human and it could rid his body of the Nogitsune. It’s certainly better than nothing.”

“Alright. You two get information from Morrell and get it to Lydia as soon as you can. Don’t let Deucalion or Kali overhear you talking to Morrell or Lydia about it. Did you find anything else, Lydia?”

“Not a whole lot more than we already know. There was one interesting thing I found. Apparently, banshees have a sort of connection with one another. They can communicate with one another through their connection with death.”

“That might be helpful if we knew another banshee.”

“I never said it was helpful, I said it was interesting. Basically, what we found is banshees are drawn to supernatural death. The connection isn’t understood and there isn’t any way to control it. Some banshees have a certain way they hear the dead.”

“What do you mean?”

“For instance, the Argents had records of a banshee that heard the dead speak to her whenever water was falling.”

“What about one that hears them through telephones?” A familiar voice none of us had heard in months easily carried over the sound of the loft door sliding open. “I was told a Derek Hale lives here and since you all were talking about supernatural stuff I figured I was at the right place. I don’t actually remember any of you, but Stiles is in trouble and he mentioned you guys. I figured you would be able help.”

“What happened to Stiles?”

“I don’t know. We were inspecting the basement of the Eichen House because Stiles thought there would be some kind of clue down there. We found a backwards five on a wall. Stiles wanted to keep investigating so I decided to take the chance to catch up on some sleep. Next thing I know I’m waking up tied to a chair with Stiles and some creep standing over me. At least I thought it was Stiles, until he jammed a drill into the other guy’s neck.”

“The Nogitsune.”

“I guess. He gave me a message. Well he gave me two. One for Derek and one for someone named Lydia.”

“Derek’s the broody one over there.” I gestured towards the chair Derek had claimed as his the first day I put it in the loft. “I’m Lydia.”

“In that case, he told me to tell you not to hold it in. He said it would be more painful if you did. He told me to tell Derek not to look for him and that he would talk with him soon.”

“Great. Things keep getting better and better. We can talk about the banshee you mentioned on the way to Deaton’s. The twins need to get that information from Morrel as soon as possible. The Nogitsune isn’t going to wait around for us to find a way to stop him from controlling Stiles.”

* * *

 

“Let me get this straight. You want to drown me in freezing cold water and magical herbs so I can remember everything this Alpha Pack made me forget? Can’t Derek just do the same claw thing they did to me? Isn’t it his magical alpha right or something?”

“It does not work like that.” Deaton threw another handful of herbs into the ice water without any concern for Erica.

“I don’t exactly remember that now do I?”

“If Derek were to attempt to do what the Alpha Pack did to you, he could do irreparable damage to your brain. This is a much safer route.”

“Your version of safe and my version of safe are very different, but if this is the only way to do things I guess we better get started. How long is this going to take exactly?”

“No idea. It’s more difficult to take large chunks of memories like they did with your mind. It should be easier to return your memories to you than it was with Isaac. It also depends on what alpha took your memories from you. If it was one of the twin, their hold will be easier to break than one of the older alphas.”

“So I could be in here for a few minutes or it could be a few hours. Fantastic. We ready to get this show on the road or what?” Deaton nodded his head and motioned for Erica to get into the tub. “Holy shit. That’s freezing.”

“Derek and Boyd, I want you two to be the ones to hold her down.”

“Any time now, guys. I’m not getting any younger or warmer.”

“Remember, I’m the only one who will be talking to her. Too many voices will cause her to become confused and could makes her memories impossible to retrieve.”

“Everyone understands. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Erica let out a deep breath right before Derek and Boyd dunked her body completely under the water. Her legs thrashed around for a few minutes and when the thrashing finally stopped the two men pulled her back up. Deaton threw two more handfuls of herbs into the tub before he seemed satisfied with his work and was ready to talk to Erica.

“Erica, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“I need you to open your mind. Tell me what you are.”

“A werewolf.”

“Who turned you into a werewolf?”

“Derek Hale.”

“Do you remember being turned into a werewolf?”

“No.”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“It was dark and cold. Two people were there with me then there was pain and I woke up in Eichen House.”

“Describe them.”

“One was a boy and the other was a girl. The boy was large and built. The girl was smaller and had dark hair. Both of them had glowing eyes. They were werewolves like me.”

“What were their names?”

“I didn’t know the girl, but the boy’s name was…”

“What was his name?”

“Something with a B.”

“Keep going. It’s important that you remember. What was his name?”

“Bard? No, it was Boyd. He was taken with me by…”

“By who? Who took you Erica?”

“The Alpha Pack. We were looking for something in the forest. Derek sent us out there because he caught a strange scent in our territory.”

“Where did the Alpha Pack keep you?”

“They kept us in a bank vault, but then I attacked Kali and they took me to where they were staying. Deucalion was going to take my memories until Morrel suggested one of the twins do it. She said it would be an important learning experience.”

“Pull her out now.”

“Is it just me or was that a lot easier than when you had to do that to me?” Isaac had a disgruntled look on his face as he looked from one person to the next. “Why was it so much easier?”

“While the mind can be a complicated thing, sometimes all you need to do is find the right piece of information to get it kick-started back up.”

“And you happened to know that Boyd would be the thing to jog her memory?”

“Lucky guess.”

“Sure it was. Can we focus on the more pressing issue now?” I glared at Isaac when he let out an indignant noise at being cut off from asking Deaton another question.

“Shouldn’t we tell his dad? I would think he would want to know that his only son is once again being possessed by a trickster fox.”

“Thank you, Cora, for reminding me that I need to call the Sheriff and let him know what happened.”

“It’s not like he won’t find out eventually. He had to check him into that insane asylum right? Won’t they call him as soon as they noticed his son disappeared into thin air?”

“They don’t call them insane asylums, but yes they will call him as soon as they notice. That’s assuming they actually notice that he’s gone. Eichen House isn’t exactly known for having a stellar reputation.”

“We should shift our focus to Deucalion then. The Nogitsune said it didn’t want to be found so there’s no use looking for him. We didn’t find him last time.”

“How very helpful of you, but in case you’ve forgotten Stiles is still in there and I’m positive he would want us to find him.”

“I might not know him as well as the rest of you, but I’m sure Stiles would rather have you all safe rather than unnecessarily risking your lives for him.” Cora shook her head dizzily and turned alarmingly pale in a matter of seconds. “What happened to the floor?”

A drop of blood slid out of Cora’s nose right before her legs gave out under her and she started to crumple to the ground. Her head would have smashed right into the floor if Isaac hadn’t have been there to catch her just in the nick of time. Derek was at her side instantly tipping her head back so he could get a better look at the blood now smeared across her face. While I hadn’t noticed it at first, it was now easy to see in the bright lights of Deaton’s clinic that Cora’s blood was pitch black.

* * *

 

Jackson pressed a comforting hand into the small of my back and held out the cup of coffee he had gone to get after the doctor had told us we would have to wait until Derek was fully informed to see Cora. Isaac was nervously pacing up and down the waiting area like a caged wolf. Scott and Allison were curled up together for comfort. Erica and Boyd were talking in hushed voices. Kira was curled up in one of the uncomfortable chair staring off into the distance with Danny sitting next to her doing the same. The Sheriff had showed up as soon as his shift was over to show Derek support then went to find Mrs. McCall when Derek was called back by the doctor. The only one who hadn’t shown up yet was Peter, but it was unlikely anyone had bothered to clue him in on what happened. My mind drifted back to the fact Cora was lying in a hospital bed, despite the fact she’s a werewolf with supernatural healing abilities. Deaton had tried his best to identify what was causing the reaction, but was unable to come up with anything after testing every wolfsbane cure he had on her.

I was pulled from my thoughts when the doctor from earlier waltzed into the waiting room with a calming smile on his face. “Normally, we only allow non-family members to go in two at a time, but I was reassured by both Mr. Hale and Nurse McCall that letting you all in at once wouldn’t be an issue. Miss. Hale is current unconscious so try not to wake her and don’t be too loud. We have other patrons in the hospital and if you become too much of a nuisance, I will have to ask you to leave.”

“Would you tell us what room she’s in already?”

“Down that hallway. Third door on your left.”

“Thank you.”

Isaac practically sprinted down the hall and was already sitting in one of the only chairs pushed up next to Cora’s bed by the time the rest of us arrived. Derek had one of Cora’s hand’s sandwiched between his own and was hunched over in exhaustion. I could see the obvious bags ringing his eyes in the dim light of the hospital room and nothing I could come up with to say seemed good enough. It wasn’t until Sheriff Stilinski came into the room and rested a hand on Derek’s shoulder that the werewolf let his body relax into his chair.

“They don’t know what’s wrong with her. They took a bunch of her blood and have her on an IV so she doesn’t get dehydrated. There’s nothing they can do until they know exactly what caused this except keep her stable and comfortable.”

“She’ll pull through this. You need to stay strong for her.” Sheriff Stilinski squeezed Derek’s shoulder then let his hand fall when he dropped into the seat next to Derek. “These things take time.”

“What are we supposed to do? Sit around? Every time we’ve tried to fix things, everything gets worse. We don’t know where the Alpha Pack are anymore, Stiles is missing with that thing controlling him, and we have no idea what’s wrong with Cora.”

“Claudia had a saying, ‘We cherish the best things in our life not because they bring us the greatest amount of joy, but because they bring us out of the darkness. We fight for them, we are strong for them, and most importantly we live for them.’ You can’t give up. You’re the alpha. You have a responsibility that’s yours whether you want it or not. It’s times like these that determine what kind of alpha you’re going to be.”

Derek raised his head so he could look Sheriff Stilinski directly in the eyes. “Where would you start? If this were just another investigation, where would you begin?”

“I would start by compiling my resources. Figuring out which person is best for what task and then I would go to my people for their opinion. Not all investigating work in done in the field. When you get close to finding the answer, you have to take a step back and make sure you didn’t miss an obvious angle.”

“Danny, do you still have that link into all the cameras around town?”

“Yes. I also have all the old feeds saved to an external hard drive.”

“Take Lydia and Jackson with you and go over those feeds. See if you can find anything related to the Alpha Pack or the Nogitsune. Even if it seems mundane, I want you to make a note of it and see if you can find any pattern to it.”

“Got it.”

“Are both of you done with your shifts for the night?”

Mrs. McCall shook her head. “I’ve got the night shift.”

“Sheriff you should go home. You need rest. Boyd, I want you to go with him to make sure nothing happens. Do not engage unless you have to. Come right back here. Same goes for you Jackson. Everybody have your phones on at all times. Allison, I want you and Kira to go fill your dad in on what’s going on and see if you have anything that could help. Isaac, Erica, and Scott are going to stay here with me.”

“I’ll drive.” Jackson started to guide me towards the door as soon as Derek finished giving his orders and motioned for Danny to follow.

“Lydia?”

I looked back at Derek with a raised eyebrow. “Yes?”

“As soon as you hear from the twins, I want to know. If they say it will work-”

“I’ll start preparing. We’re not losing him.”

“No. We’re not losing anyone else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	18. Scott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little complicated at the hospital.

Cora hadn’t moved in the three hours we had been waiting in her hospital room and every time the doctor came in he would inform Derek that there was no new news on his sister. Derek hadn’t said a word since the others left, but the silence hadn’t lasted long. Erica had grown bored incredibly quickly and had demanded that Isaac and I fill her in on everything that had happened since her disappearance. It was a welcomed distraction that hadn’t lasted nearly long enough.

I was moments away from nodding off when the door to Cora’s room slowly opened and Peter Hale slipped in through the small crack. “I’m shocked I wasn’t informed about what happened to my niece right after it happened. Its times like these we should be looking to each other for support. After all, we’re the only family we have left.”

“If you only came here to make a scene, you should leave now.”

“Me? Make a scene?”

“Don’t act innocent.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

Derek let out a low growl that had Peter smirking in pride. “You’ve always done something or have something planned. What is it this time? I’m sick and tired of playing your games.”

“We’re not playing my game. I think we both know that, Derek.”

“Since you know so much, why don’t you explain to me exactly whose game we’re playing?”

“What would be the fun in that? Besides I’m here to look after my ill niece, not talk about such unpleasant things.”

“Yet you still bring it up.”

“Actually you were the one that brought it up.”

“If this is what I’ve been missing the past couple of months, I’m kind of grateful for the temporary amnesia.” Erica glanced between the two werewolves with a bored expression. “Is he always this much of an asshole?”

“I wasn’t aware you were back. When did that happen?”

“I thought they were exaggerating, but you really are as creepy as they said you are.”

“Nice to know my reputation proceeds me.”

“I bet you are.” Erica wrinkled her nose in distaste and moved her attention from Peter to Derek. “How much longer are we going to have to sit here? I’ve spent the last couple of months bored out of mind. I might actually go crazy if I keep having to do nothing.”

“Today’s your lucky day then.”

“Was I talking to you? I don’t remember directing that question at you.”

“Yes, but I know something that you don’t.”

“How about you enlighten me with your knowledge?”

“Don’t any of you know? I would have thought you all would be aware.”

“You sure like the sound of your own voice.”

“The Alpha Pack is at the hospital. I caught a big whiff of Kali on the way up. Deucalion undoubtly had her securing the perimeter.”

“And you didn’t think to lead with that?” Derek was out of his chair so fast I wouldn’t have caught it if I didn’t have enhanced senses. “Where are they?”

“I don’t know. All I did was smell Kali.”

“You better not be hiding something.”

“Always so suspicious nephew. One of these days you’re going to have to learn to trust me.”

“You’re going to have to earn it.”

I was sure Derek was about to lunge for Peter’s throat when everything in the room suddenly went out all at once. My mind flashed back to the night the Nogitsune had fully taken over Stiles and I wasn’t the only one who must have thought of that. When the emergency lights kicked, on Isaac and Derek were also shifted and standing over Cora’s unmoving body. I strained my ears to try and hear the Alpha Pack over the sound of people rushing around in a panic to make sure all the patients were stable.

“Attention.” My blood ran cold at the sound of my mom’s voice vibrating out of the hospital speakers. “There is a Mr. Deuca- I’m sorry just Deucalion here. He would like me to tell you that things would go smoothly if you came to him, instead of making him find you. His associates have blocked all of the exits and will not let you leave.”

“He has my mom.”

“He won’t do anything to her. He’ll let her go as a peace offering so you’ll do what he wants.” Peter started unhooking all the wires and tubes connected to Cora. “We need to be worrying about ourselves. I have no doubt that Kali will have no issue slitting Cora’s unconscious throat. She needs to be moved out of this hospital.”

“There are probably ambulances in the bay waiting to transfer the more unstable patients to a different hospital.”

“Then we procure one for our own personal use.”

“What if somebody else really needs one?”

“Quite unfortunate for them.”

* * *

 

“Is all this sneaking around really necessary? I thought the twins were supposed to be on our side.” Erica was sitting on the end of Cora’s bed while Derek pushed it quickly down the hallway. “Shouldn’t they be able to help us get out of this mess?”

“Kali and Deucalion don’t know that they’re working for us. If they just let us go, then their cover would be blown.”

“Do you hear yourself right now? You make it sound like some sort of super-secret spy movie, McCall. You’re not James Bond.”

“I’m being serious, Erica. They don’t know that the twins have agreed to help us.”

“Alright. I get the point. No need to be so dramatic about the whole thing. Guess I should ask the obvious question then. How do you plan on getting past four alpha werewolves?”

Derek made a sharp turn that nearly sent Peter slamming into the wall, but the creepy man managed to move out of the way at the last second. “They won’t be all together. There are two lower exits out of the hospital. Kali will be in charge of blocking one, while the twins block the other. Deucalion will probably want a vantage point. Somewhere he can extend his senses and make sure we don’t manage to sneak past the others. Most likely the roof.”

“So how exactly do you plan on getting your sister out?”

“Distraction.”

“Care to elaborate on that thought?”

“We’re going to distract them.”

“I got that much, thanks. I meant how do you plan on distracting them? Didn’t Scott and Isaac say the twins morph into some kind of mega alpha? We might out number them, but someone has to stay with Cora and that evens it up. Not to mention you’re the only alpha we have.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“Whatever you say, boss man.”

Everyone lapsed into silence for the last few hallways we had to go through to reach the ambulance bay and hopefully get Cora out. Naturally, Kali appeared clicking down the last hallway we needed to get through with a predatory smile and her eyes shining bright red. She dragged her clawed fingertips against the wall to complete her evil villainous display like a character out of a cheesy action movie. Her eyes flicked over our little group with boredom until they landed on Erica.

“So, you found the little she-wolf of yours. I’m surprised. Where’s the rest of your pack? If you could call it that.”

“None of your business.”

“What about your psycho boyfriend? You sure know how to pick them. A crazy hunter that burned your family alive in that ugly monstrosity you called a house and now someone possessed by a murderous spirit. Great decision making.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

“No, you didn’t. I just wonder if you’ve really thought about what’s wrong with your sister.” Kali prowled closer despite the snarl Isaac let out when she started to move forward. “It’s a pity really because I had such plans for her. A very… fitting way for her life to end, while you watched helplessly on.”

“We could make things simple. I could rip your throat out.”

“I think we both know I would be the one to win that fight.”

“Go.” Derek let out a fierce roar when none of us moved to follow his order. “I told you to leave. Get Cora out of here. I’ll take care of Kali.”

Kali’s lips twisted into a cocky smirk at Derek’s command like that had been exactly what she had been hoping he would say. I debated ignoring what Derek said, but Isaac shoved me into the closest room before I could move to help him with Kali. The two huge doors swung shut behind Peter blocking out some of the sound of the two alphas going at each other in the hallway. Isaac poked his head out of the other set of doors then popped right back into the room.

“We might have a slight problem getting Cora to an ambulance.”

“The twins already found us?”

“Nope. Bigger problem. Those Oni things are out there.”

Peter flashed his eyes blue in frustration and tightened his grip on the frame of the hospital bed. “What the hell are they doing here?”

“We guess we should be apologizing for that.” Stiles was leaning against the wall next to the doors we had just walked through. His hair was messy like he had just rolled out of bed and he had a cruel smile that looked strange on his face. There were bags under his eyes so deep it looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks, instead of the few days it had been since we last saw him. “They kind of followed us here. It’s really quite annoying. Like an itch you can’t scratch.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Now, now Scotty. No need to get your fur in a bunch. We came to help. Lend our assistance.”

“At what price?”

“Peter, always searching for an angle.”

“I know better than to trust a trickster. You want something.”

“What could we possibly get from you?” Two Oni suddenly appeared in the room with their swords drawn, but they made no move to attack. “You and Erica can handle this right?”

* * *

 

Isaac was glaring at the back of Stiles’s head as if he might be able to make it explode if he put enough will power into it. The Nogitsune either didn’t care that Isaac was trying to develop laser vision or he was completely oblivious to what was going on behind him. It was more likely that the Nogitsune knew Isaac couldn’t kill him by himself so he didn’t need to care about his death glare. I nudged Isaac in the side to try to get him to stop, but he just rolled his eyes and went right back to staring.

I turned my attention from Isaac’s fury to focusing my senses on the things going on around me. The hallway was eerily quiet, especially knowing that there was plenty of fighting going on behind us that could lead to Erica or Derek or even Peter getting hurt (not that the last one really bothered me). The only sound that really stood out was that of Cora’s breathing. With every push of the hospital bed, her breathing seemed to be getting shallower and shallower. I could smell the salty tang of sweat growing in the air around Cora and could hear her teeth clicking together.

Isaac must have picked up on the same things I had because he started to pick up the pace to the point he was sprinting down the hallway. We were seconds away from busting through the door to the ambulance bay when a large, lumbering figure came barrelling out of a door behind us. In the flickering lights of the hospital, the twins’ combined form was even more terrifying than it was the night in the train station. I skid to a stop and turned around to face the hulking figure waiting patiently to see what our next move would be.

“Scott, come on. We can make it out there.”

“They’ll catch up with us eventually. You go. Get Cora to an ambulance. I’ll distract it.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“No idea. I’ll think of something.”

“You better think of something quick. They aren’t going to be happy when we make a run for it.”

“Thanks for the help.”

“Always happy to.”

“Would you go already?”

“Be careful.”

“You, too.”

The sound of door clicking shut behind Isaac reverberated through the hall and instantly angered the huge beast staring me down. I glanced around the hallway for something that could be helpful and the only thing that caught my eye was a bright red fire extinguisher. The twins combined form must have noticed my distress if the creepy smile looking thing on their face was anything to go by. Despite the fact I knew it wouldn’t help much, I pulled the fire extinguisher off the wall and yanked the ring out.

The twins started to lumber down the hallway at a pace much slower than they would typically use so I would have plenty of time to move out of the way. I waited until they were close enough to swipe at me with their claws before I rolled in between their legs. My claws scraped against the back of one of their ankles causing them to let out an almighty howl of pain that shook the walls. It didn’t take them long to get over the sudden burst of pain and turn around so they were now looming over me. I nearly dropped the fire extinguisher on the ground in my haste to spray the twins in their mashed up mega-face.

The two stumbled backwards in shock like they hadn’t actually been expecting me to use the fire extinguisher against them. I threw the half empty canister at their collective head, then high tailed it down the first hall I came to. The twins had just started to come after me when an Oni materialized out of nowhere and right into the middle of the hallway. Their sword appeared to flicker menacingly in the failing lights of the hospital making it somehow look deadlier than normal.

I thought the situation was about to get worse than me being stuck in between the twins and an Oni when someone turned the corner at the end of the hall. Relief flooded through me at the sight of curly blonde hair whipping behind the half-shifted person. Erica came sliding to a halt a few feet away from the Oni and crotched down in an attacking stance.  The Oni completely ignored the werewolf behind it in favor of keeping its bright laser pointer eyes at me.

I met Erica’s intense stare and nodded slightly when she inclined her head toward the Oni. In a split second, Erica moved to run her claws along the back of the Oni’s knees only to have them pass right through. As soon as the Oni turned its attention to Erica, I took the opportunity to run around the Oni and dragged my claws through its side. Just like with Erica, my claws slipped right through the Oni as if they were passing through air. I let out a huff of air when I barely managed to jump out of the way of the sword swung at me in retaliation.

“Isaac left you with Frankenwolf and Samari Warrior?”

“The Oni wasn’t here when I told him to take Cora and go.”

“She better still be alive.”

“What happened to Peter?”

“I don’t know. One second we were fighting and the next both of those things disappeared. Peter ran off in one direction and I followed the sound of what appears to be you about to get your ass kicked.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Other than getting the hell out of here?”

Erica spun out of the way of the Oni’s sword and lashed out with her claws so they grazed off of the Oni’s mask. The twins looked to be debating whether to charge at the Oni or not when a pair of hands grabbed a hold of their gigantic neck. A crack filled the air after a small twist of the hands and the twins landed on the floor in two separate piles of shirtless werewolf. Stiles easily stepped over the two werewolf and casually strolled down the hallway towards the Oni.

The Oni ignored the swipe Erica landed on it and turned its full attention to Stiles. Stiles rolled his eyes at the sword now pointing directly over where his heart was beating steadily in his chest. When the Oni sliced his sword up I was expecting it to cause bright red blood to stain Stiles’s shirt, but the sword went right through the air instead. Stiles’s hand managed to grab a hold of one of the Oni’s glove ones and twisted it until the sword fell out.

He picked up the sword with a bored expression on his face. “Did you know these are meant to be held with two hands? It’s very important that you have the correct hand positions. The pinkie is particularly important. Most people don’t think the pinkie is important, but it is. You need it if you’re going to have good control of your weapon and power.”

“Why is he giving us a lesson in Japanese weaponry?”

“Well, Scotty has a little friend that he went to for help while we were… incapacitated. Things didn’t go so well for him.” Stiles tossed something through the air so fast I barely managed to catch it. “We might have gotten a little angry when we found out.”

“Silverfinger.”

“He was a crafty one, but not as crafty as we are.”

“Is that why you came here? To give us a warning?”

“Actually, we’re here to talk to Derek. He’s a little busy at the moment though.” I shifted my eyes between Stiles and the Oni. “Don’t worry about him. He can’t do anything. Noshiko isn’t as powerful as she likes to think she is. Especially when she’s not even using her most powerful assets”

“What do you mean not using her most powerful assets?”

“We can’t spoil all the fun, Scotty.”

“Are we seriously going to stand around having a conversation while Derek and the others could be in trouble?” Erica let out a low growl of frustration and flashed her eyes at Stiles.

“In trouble? Deucalion knows when he’s outmatched. You think he stuck around once the twins were out of the picture? He’ll run with his tail tucked between his legs, so he and Kali can regroup. You must have noticed that his plan isn’t going exactly as… planned.”

“You don’t actually believe him. Do you Scott?”

“We’ve been nothing, but honest with you. Did our time at Eichen House together mean nothing to you?”

“Get out of Stiles, then maybe we can talk.”

“Stiles isn’t in control anymore. Thanks to you.”

“I’m going to enjoy killing you.”

A deadly smile broke out across Stiles’s face causing Erica and I both take a step backwards. “You’re a feisty one. We’re going to enjoy watching the life leave your body. We’ll be sure that it will be nice and slow.”

Erica started to move towards Stiles, but I managed to wrap my arms around her waist and hold her back before she could do anything. It was clear that Stiles was expecting me to do this if the cocky eyebrow raise was anything to go by. Of course this made Erica try even harder to get out of my hold, probably so she could rip that cocky eyebrow right off of his face. The only thing that stopped her from going after him was Derek limping around the corner.

Stiles’s whole face lit up as he turned to face the bloody alpha werewolf standing perfectly still at the end of the hallway. He managed to take two steps forward before Derek let out a low warning growl that shook the small windows set in the doors lining the hallway. Stiles let out an obnoxious sigh and threw the katana he was still holding onto the floor between him and Derek. When Derek continued to refuse to come any closer to him, Stiles put his foot on the katana and gave it a push forward so it was sitting at Derek’s feet.

“You can hold it if it will make you feel better.”

“You brought them here.”

“Technically, they followed us. Noshiko thinks she can use them to kill us. We think she should try harder. You got our message we assume.” Stiles turned to look at Erica who snapped her teeth at him in response.

“Yes.”

“We thought we had moved past the one word answers, Derek.”

“Stiles and I are. You aren’t Stiles.”

“There is no more Stiles. There’s only us.”

Derek’s eyes flashed bright red for a split second at Stiles’s words. “I’m going to save him. No matter the cost. I will save him.”

“We can’t wait to see you try, but that’s not what we came here to talk about.”

“What did you come to talk about?”

“Cora.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	19. Derek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek is offered a deal and the pack makes a move on the last of the Alpha Pack.

Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to jump across the table and rip the throat out of the trickster sitting calmly across from me. The only thing stopping me was the familiar face watching me in interest as I struggled to keep control of my wolf. Bright whiskey eyes, slightly curved up nose, and lips just waiting to curve into a playful smile. I tightened my grip on the arms of my chair barely managing to keep my claws from ripping into the expensive leather Lydia had insisted I needed.

The Nogitsune raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at my undoubtly stark white hands gripping onto the chair. I slowly let go of the arms of the chair and clasped them firmly together in my lap instead. The smile I had missed every time I thought of Stiles being trapped inside his own body was suddenly right in front of me. My claws poked through the thin flesh on the back of my hand causing blood to trickle down my hands sluggishly.

“We’ve noticed you always have a particularly strong reaction whenever we look at you like that. You get this look on your face that’s hard to describe.”

“You said you wanted to talk about Cora. Talk.”

“Why is it you also want to jump right into things?”

“We’re not here to talk about me. We’re talking about Cora.”

“You’re no fun, Derek.”

“This isn’t a game!”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” The Nogitsune stood up so it could cross the small space between us and sit down on my lap with its arms resting on my shoulders the same way Stiles liked to. “It’s all a game. We’re all just pieces on a board and your moves are always so predictable, Derek. You can’t possibly think you’re going to win if you continue to make the same mistakes. That’s the definition of insanity.”

“For a thousand year old trickster fox, you sometimes have a strange way of talking. I think you’re not as in control as you want us to think you are.”

A dark cloud passed over the Nogitsune’s eyes and the next thing I knew I was pinned to one of the loft pillars. The cold concrete bit into my cheek where the Nogitsune was pushing my face into the pillar so I couldn’t move my head at all. The Nogitsune started to gradually twist my left arm further and further up my back until it felt like it was ready to pop right out of the socket. I let out a hiss of pain, but made no move to try to get out of the Nogitsune’s firm grip.

“We could rip you to pieces without even breaking a sweat. The fact you wouldn’t even fight back because you don’t want to risk hurting our body makes things boring.” The Nogitsune let go of my arm and took a step back from me. “We have an offer.”

“What offer?”

“One you won’t be able to say no to.”

“And that would be?”

“We know what’s wrong with your sister. We can save her.”

I flicked my eyes over to where Cora was lying unconscious on the other mattress I had brought down to the living room so I could keep a close eye on her. “In exchange for what?”

“There’s going to come a time when we’re going to need your help and when we do, you’re going to help us.”

“Why would you need my help? You’ve already pointed out that you’re always one step ahead of us. What could you need from me?”

“Strength in numbers, Derek. Do we have a deal? We heal your sister and you help us when the time comes.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Wolfsbane isn’t the only plant that’s dangerous to werewolves, Derek. You already know this.”

“Mistletoe.”

“Yes.”

“You’ll heal her? Now?”

“We wouldn’t have come to you with our offer if we weren’t going to heal her now. She’s hanging on by a thread. We know you can hear her heartbeat. It’s getting fainter and fainter. Time to decide.”

“Fine. Heal her and I’ll help you.”

“Just so we’re clear. I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain. If I come to you and you change your mind, I’ll pull her heart right out of her chest while you watch idly by. Are we clear?”

“Crystal.”

* * *

 

“You did what?” Lydia was glaring at me with so much intensity I wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t be able to find a way to set me on fire only using her eyes. “You made a deal with the Nogitsune?”

“It’s not like he sold his soul.”

“I didn’t ask you, Jackson. Do you know what that thing did to the twins? It’s a miracle they’re still alive. If they weren’t alphas, they wouldn’t be and you made a deal with it.”

Kira placed a comforting hand on Lydia’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “At least we know the Nogitsune is going to come back here. We have to be ready for when it does.”

“The twins talked to Morrel, but they didn’t get a chance to tell me what she said. Unless they wake up before the Nogitsune shows back up on Derek’s door, we’re not going to have anything.”

“What about a back-up plan?”

“We’re already on the back-up plan. We’re on the back-up plan’s back-up plan. That information from Morrel was our last hope at getting Stiles back.”

“There has to be something else. My mom trapped the Nogitsune before. We can do it again.”

“Allison and I have looked through every single book the Argent’s own. Derek has gone through all of Peter’s bestiary and we’ve found nothing.”

Lydia collapsed onto the couch in defeat and buried her face in her hands with a sob so unlike Lydia everyone in the room looked shocked. I hesitated for a second in uncertainty before deciding to trust my instinct and the voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like Stiles. My arms wrapped around Lydia’s smaller framer without any problem and pulled her closer to me. She tucked her face in the groove between my shoulder and neck causing her tears to wet my skin and t-shirt. Her hands gripped onto the fabric of my shirt so tightly I could feel the fabric stretching as far as it possibly could to accommodate her hold.

“We can’t give up. We have to keep fighting.”

Lydia sniffled to help catch her breath before she spoke. “I can’t lose him. He’s like my best friend and the brother I never wanted all wrapped up into one. He’s always seen me as who I was and not who I pretended to be. He believed in me.”

“And you believe in him. He may be scrawny, but Stiles is a fighter. We need to give him something to help him fight. We need to do for him, what he’s done for us.”

“Okay.” Lydia lifted her face from my neck and carefully wiped the tear tracks off of her face. “Let’s do something dangerous.”

“That’s not exactly what I was trying to say.”

“I know, but this is something Stiles would suggest.”

“No.”

“Good thing that doesn’t work on either of us. Nothing would get done properly if it did.”

“Lydia.”

“The Alpha Pack is now made up of Deucalion and Kali. All I need to do is talk to Morrel. The rest of you keep the other two distracted while I do it.”

“Stiles would think that plan was insane.”

“No he wouldn’t, because Stiles would be coming with me.”

“I can go with her.” Danny had his hand raised and was glancing nervously around the room like he was expecting someone to shoot down his idea. “It’s not like we’re going to need someone watching video surveillance. I have it set up to record everything.”

“Someone will need to stay with Cora. She’s still too weak to defend herself if something shows up here.”

“I can do it. Derek will have Erica, Boyd, Scott, and Jackson as back-up. Plus Kira and her kitsune powers. What’s one beta down?”

“And if Deucalion or Kali manage to make it here?”

“I can stay, too. My dad and I can set up some traps around the building as a precaution.”

“Excellent. We just need to know when we’re going to do it.” Lydia looked at me expectantly and narrowed her eyes when I didn’t automatically answer. “It’s up to you, Derek.”

“Tomorrow night. Take tonight to rest up. Deucalion and Kali might be the only ones left, but they’re not going down without a fight.”

* * *

 

Sheriff Stilinski had five different files spread across his desk and a half eaten sandwich forgotten off to the side with a cold cup of coffee. His hair was sticking up all over the place from where he had been running his fingers through it constantly. The part of his uniform I could see was wrinkled and looked to be hanging a little looser around the shoulders than it used to. He was too busy staring at his work to notice the time, yet alone notice I was standing quietly in the doorway.

“Stiles wouldn’t be happy if he saw you like this. He’d probably say something about your cholesterol and working yourself into an early grave.”

Sheriff Stilinski leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hands over his face. “What time is it?”

“Eleven-thirty. Parrish called me because you’ve been locked in your office for a while now. He was worried you’d sleep here if someone didn’t come get you and Melissa is on shift right now. I thought you weren’t on shift.”

“I’m convinced Stiles has had meetings with all the deputies to lay out the guidelines he has set for me. I couldn’t sleep. Thought I might as well work.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me.”

“That’s the kind of kid he is.” Sheriff Stilinski’s eyes glazed over for a second while he got lost in his thoughts, then he shook his head to clear it. “I’m assuming there’s something you want to talk to me about. You have a look on your face like you want to say something, but you don’t know how.”

“The Nogitsune showed up at the hospital tonight.”

“What did it want?”

“A deal. It agreed to save Cora in exchange for a favor at a later date.”

“You took it, I assume.”

“I didn’t think there was any other way to save her.”

Sheriff Stilinski stood up from his chair with a heavy groan and gave me a reassuring pat on my shoulder. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing. We do what we have to, to protect the people we love.”

“Right.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about this. Look on the bright side of things.”

“What bright side?”

“The Nogitsune needs something from you. That means it’s not the all-powerful being we’ve been thinking it is. It has weaknesses. It also means he’ll be coming to you. All you need is a plan.”

“You’re the second person to tell me that.”

“Lydia?”

“Kira, but Lydia was the one who decided what our next move should be.”

“Going by your expression I’m guessing you don’t approve.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and let out a sigh. “She wants to talk to Morrel since the twins didn’t get the chance to tell her what she said.”

“But she’s still working with the Alpha Pack.”

“Lydia wants us to distract Kali and Deucalion while she talks with Morrel. Danny agreed to go with her, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. Kali and Deucalion are both crafty. They won’t be easily distracted.”

“Son, I’m going to tell you something I figured out not long after Stiles was born. You can’t protect them from everything. Even if you put them in a bubble, you wouldn’t be able to keep them from getting hurt. It’s part of life. All you can do is give them the tools they need to get through it.”

“Easier said than done.”

“I never said it was easy. Be prepared to go grey young.”

“If that becomes my biggest concern, I don’t think I’ll mind.”

“You say that now, but wait until you find your first grey hair.” Sheriff Stilinski clapped me on the back and started to guide me out of his office. “No amount of preparing will make that moment any less terrifying.”

“Stiles making fun of me probably won’t make it any better.”

Sheriff Stilinski chuckled good-naturedly while he slid into the front seat of the cruiser. “Get a good night’s sleep. You’re going to need it if you’re going to take on Deucalion and Kali tomorrow.”

“Good night, Sheriff.”

“Night, Derek.”

* * *

 

I let my eyes drift to the rear-view mirror for the millionth time so I could make sure that Erica, Danny, and Kira were still calm. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Lydia rolling her eyes at me no doubt because she thought I was being ridiculous. My fingers started to tap restlessly against the steering wheel the closer we got to where Kali and Deucalion were staying according to the still bedridden twins that had woken up for all of five seconds earlier. Every fiber of my body was screaming at me to turn the car around and go back to the loft, but I knew Lydia would kill me before I could even start a U-turn.

Putting the car into park felt like the single worst idea on the history of the planet including the time Stiles wanted to attach a sled on the back of his Jeep and ride around in the woods with one of the wolves on the sled. I turned around to face the teens patiently sitting in the backseat waiting for me to tell them what to do. Lydia cleared her throat after a few seconds and motioned for me to hurry up. I rolled my eyes up towards the ceiling and prayed that everything would work out the way Lydia was so sure that it would.

“Remember what I said earlier. Don’t forget who you’re supposed to be focusing on. If something happens, get yourself out of the way. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. Got it?” Everyone in the back seat nodded their head in confirmation so I turned to Lydia. “Get the information from Morrel and get out. Use the mountain ash if you have to. Stay safe.”

My eyes drifted over to where Scott was sitting patiently in his mom’s car with Jackson and Boyd, all of their eyes already glowing. I pushed my car door open and headed towards the entrance of the abandoned warehouse I remember going to when I was younger. The door creaked ominously as I pushed it wide open with my foot just in case Kali was waiting to jump on the other side. I waited a few seconds to make sure it was relatively safe before taking a cautious step into the deserted looking room.

The sound of two hearts beating steadily made it clear that Kali and Deucalion were somewhere in the room, but even with my eyes changed I couldn’t see them. Something clanging to my right drew my attention to a huge spiral that had been clawed into the side of the warehouse. I took a step closer to familiar symbol only to stop at the sound of something flying through the air behind me. Without thinking I ducked down nearly avoiding a familiar blade that was normally attached to the cane Deucalion kept with him.

“Derek, I must say I’m surprised to see you here. I would think you’d be busy seeing to that other problem you have.” Deucalion stepped out of the shadows with his arm resting on Kali’s to guide him. “It’s quite unfortunate. What’s happening to your sister.”

“Don’t pretend to care.”

“Now, now. One of the last living Hales dying is a true tragedy.”

“Then I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that she’s perfectly fine.”

“Really? And how did you manage that one? I doubt that vet of yours was able to find anything. That’s why you took her to the hospital in the first place. Unless you got help somewhere else.”

“I didn’t come here to talk.”

“No, I suppose you didn’t. There is one thing I want to know. What happened to the twins? I went to collect their bodies and they appeared to have mysteriously vanished.”

“Guess you didn’t keep a close enough eye on them.”

“Let’s just kill him already.”

“Patience, Kali. His pack will want to join us.”

Scott was the first one to come through the door closely followed by Boyd, Jackson, and Erica already completely shifted. Kira brought up the rear with her katana out and ready to take on whatever werewolf would try to attack her. I watched as my pack fanned out so they formed a semicircle around the two alpha werewolves still standing calmly in the middle of the room. One of Deucalion’s eyebrows raised after the pack was completely settled into the places we had talked about right before we left the loft.

“Where’s the banshee? I was expecting her to be here and the other one. The hacker boy. I could have sworn I picked up on them.”

“Must have been imagining things.”

“Or you’re up to something. I suppose it’s not entirely true what I heard. I was told that Stiles was the one with all of the plans and I know he can’t be helping you now.”

“Don’t talk about him.”

“Have I struck a nerve?”

I was about to say something snarky in return when Jackson launched himself straight at Deucalion only to get smacked out of the way by Kali. Erica was quick to help Jackson by dragging a set of her claws right through the back of Kali’s left ankle severing the Achilles. A howl pierced the air followed by the sound of someone slamming into one of the thin warehouse walls causing the whole building to shake. Boyd helped Erica up while Jackson distracted Kali long enough for the other two to converge on her from either side.

Something flashing through the air towards Erica made my insides go cool until the sound of metal on metal filled the air. Kira had no problem batting the other two knives Deucalion threw her way out of the air with her katana. This distraction gave Scott the perfect opportunity to sneak up on Deucalion from behind and slash at Deucalion’s dominant arm. Before Deucalion could turn around to attack Scott, I distracted him by taking a good chuck out of his side coating my claws in blood in the process. Instead of letting out a howl like Kali had, Deucalion’s face twisted up in pain and started to morph into something else.

His skin turned dark grey and the bones under his skin became larger and more prominent so they looked about ready to pop out of his skin. The once typical bright red alpha eyes started to become brighter until they were a vibrant orange that took up his entire eye. The shirt he was wearing was straining around the edges where his muscles had bulged during his transformation. Kira and I took several steps back while Scott scramble around Deucalion to stand next to us with his eyes practically popping out of his head.

“Did you know about this?” Scott kept his eyes completely focused on Deucalion the whole time he was talking.

“Why did you think I wasn’t a fan of this? Deucalion isn’t exactly a normal alpha. That’s why he was able to form a pack made out of alphas.”

“You didn’t think to tell us about this?”

“It’s kind of hard to describe something like that.”

“What are we supposed to do?”

“Not let him kill you.”

“Very helpful.”

“It’s kind of too late to pull something magical out of our asses. I’m not even sure Kira’s katana would do anything against him.”

“There has to be something.”

“Stick to the plan. Distract him.”

Suddenly something slammed into my back causing me to hit the ground and lose all of the air I had in my lungs. Pain blossomed across the back of my neck where I assumed Kali had sunk her claws into the tender flesh with the intent to rip out my spine. As soon as I had my hands underneath my body, I pushed off the ground and flipped us over so Kali was the pressed into the concrete. Her claws immediately retracted so she could use her hands to push my body off of hers.

I got my feet under me and turned around to face Kali who was just managing to get her legs under her. In the background I could see Erica moving slowly to find a good spot to launch herself at Kali from, but I motioned for Erica to help the others with Deucalion. She hesitated for a second then made her way over to where the others were dancing right out of Deucalion’s reach. I turned my attention to Kali in time to see her starting to swing her arm directly at my face. My arms flew in front of my face on instinct so her claws scrapped against my forearms rather than across my face.

Kali took several more swipes that I continued to step out of the way from until I finally ran out of space. Even with her mouth full of fangs Kali smirked in accomplishment at having me backed up against the side of the warehouse. She twisted her body so her nasty velociraptor toenails were headed at the side of my throat she hadn’t gotten her claws on. My hand shot out to grab Kali’s ankle and twisted it so she went spinning the opposite direction.

While she was trying to get her balance back, I wrapped one arm around her waist and raised my clawed hand against her throat. Kali snarled and tried to throw her head back into mine, but I got my head out of the way so she couldn’t break my nose. I tightened my grip around her and snarled when she struggled to get out of my hold. My claws poked through her skin getting the attention of a still wolfed out Deucalion at the smell of her blood.

“What are you going to do Derek?” Deucalion’s words came out slightly slurred because of the fangs taking up most of his mouth. “Rip her throat out? The Sheriff won’t be happy to hear about you murdering someone.”

“He’ll make an exception.”

“How do you know that?”

“He’s not a fan of people who are willing to kill his son. We have that in common.”

I pushed my claws in further and drug them across Kali’s throat leaving a trail of blood behind me. My pack was already making their way out of the door when Kali finally stopped spluttering on the blood she had been choking on. Deucalion looked ready to tear my pack apart, but I pushed Kali towards him so his only choice was to catch her body. The moment Kali was out of my arms I was heading out the door and to the car already running for a quick get away

Scott backed out and gunned it down the road as soon as I slammed my door shut leaving little room for Deucalion to attack. I didn’t even bother to put my seatbelt on before I was following Scott’s lead at an even faster pace than his car’s mom could go. The drying blood on my hands made a squelching noise when I moved them around to get my seatbelt on while I continued to gun it. Lydia made a disgusted noise and wrinkled her nose in distaste, but didn’t appear surprised at the blood.

“We don’t have to worry about Kali anymore?”

“No.”

“For some reason, that doesn’t make me feel any safer. Erica gave us a very vivid description of what Deucalion turns into.”

“We’ll need to make sure everyone’s houses are lined with mountain ash.”

“I, for one, am not going home. My mom’s out of town for some fashion thing so I’ll be staying at the loft and so will Jackson.”

Despite the fact Lydia’s tone was demanding, I knew she’d been having trouble staying at her house alone since Peter messed with her and staying at the loft would make her feel safer. “Fine. What did you learn?”

“That it’s going to be hard, but we can save Stiles. We can get him back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	20. Cora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia explains what Morrel told her and the pack comes up with a plan to get to the Nogitsune.

Everything around me looked like it was spinning into one gigantic blob made up mostly of various shades of grey meaning I had to be in Derek’s loft. No other place could possibly have that many versions of the same boring color and still be a place where someone would live. I tried to bring my hands up to rub at my bleary eyes, but my arms felt like a million unmovable pounds. My head tipped uselessly to the side bringing a different colored blob into my line of sight. The blob moved closer to me then something pressed lightly against my forehead.

The more I blinked my eyes, the clearer the growing number of blobs around me started to get and the more sure I was that I was, in fact, in Derek’s loft. The blob next to me was gradually becoming more person like so I could make out curly hair and ten fingers. I flexed my fingers against the bedsheets to see if I was gaining the ability to move my arms like I was gaining the ability to see clearer. My fingers twisted into the sheets with no problem so I tried to flip my arms around and was met with the same success.

Both of my arms felt achy and sore, but this wasn’t surprising considering my whole body felt like it had gotten run over multiple times. Rubbing my eyes turned into a Herculean task that almost ended with me stabbing my own eye out in the process. I let my arms flop uselessly back onto the bed and turned to look at the person sitting patiently at my bedside. Isaac was watching me with a raised eyebrow that I didn’t understand the reason for. You’d think he’d never seen a girl wake up after being unconscious before.

“What?” My voice sounded like a bullfrog had moved in while I was out. “Where’s the water and my brother?”

“Your brother is doing something dangerous so Lydia can talk to Morrel.”

“I thought the twins were going to talk to Morrel for her.”

“They did, but something happened to them before they could.”

“Would you stop beating around the bush and tell me what’s going on?”

Isaac shifted uncomfortably, then nodded. “After you passed out, Deaton took a look over you and couldn’t figure out what was wrong. We had to take you to the hospital. While we were there, the alpha pack and the Oni showed up. It was my job to get you out of there so I didn’t actually see what happened, but the nogitsune broke the twin’s neck during their mega-wolf thing.”

“So they died?”

“No. They’re both alive. Deaton thinks that they won’t be alphas when they wake up though because that part of them was used up to keep them alive.”

“If they’re still alive, why did Lydia have to go to Morrel?”

“They haven’t woken up yet. At least not long enough to tell us more than where the Alpha Pack had been staying.”

“How long ago did they leave?”

“I don’t know.” Isaac leaned over to pick his cell phone up and started to mess around on it. “Lydia says they’re on their way back. No one’s hurt and she got what she wanted.”

“She knows how save Stiles?”

“Sounds like it. I imagine there’d be more cursing or bigger words or something like that if she didn’t get what she wanted. It’s Lydia and Stiles. They probably have plans to take over the world together some day.”

“Probably. Can I get that water now?”

“Sure. Here’s my phone. You can text Lydia and ask about Derek if you want to.”

Isaac pushed out of his chair with a loud groan when his back popped and headed to the kitchen area for the water. I picked up the phone Isaac had left that already had Lydia’s number pulled up so I could type out a text to her. My fingers hovered over the touch keyboard unsure if I should bother to ask about my brother or wait for them all to get back. The phone buzzed in my hand while I was still trying to decide what to do with a new message from Lydia.

**Lydia**

**We’ll be pulling in in five minute. How’s Cora? Derek won’t stop asking.**

**Isaac**

**I’m fine. I woke up a while ago.**

**Lydia**

**Derek’s happy to hear that. His face twitched in that happy way.**

**Isaac**

**Glad to know I warrant a face twitch.**

**Lydia**

**He almost smiled at that one.**

* * *

 

“Cora.” Derek busted through the loft door covered in blood and immediately took over the seat Isaac had scrambled out of. “How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?”

“I’m sore and a little tired, but otherwise I’m fine. Why are you covered in blood?”

“Your brother ripped out Kali’s throat. It wasn’t with his teeth like he always threatened to do with Stiles. According to the others, it was quite gruesome. Where am I staying?”

“You’re staying?”

“My mom’s out of town and I’m not staying alone while Deucalion is still running around. Jackson’s staying over too.”

“Great. What’d you find out about the Nogitsune?”

Lydia placed her bag down on the floor and took a seat on the foot of the bed after she brushed down the bed covers. “Morrel confirmed what Allison and I thought. If we can tap into Stiles’s spark, then we can change his body forcing the Nogitsune out. She said it’s going to be difficult. We have to figure out what his trigger is. It’s different for everybody.”

“Did she at least give you some examples?”

“A few. Sometimes a serious trauma could cause the spark to manifest as a defence mechanism, but Stiles has already been through emotional and physical trauma so we can rule that out. Being exposed to a certain element in a trying situation could also do it. Water’s out, but everything else is still on the table. The last one she mentioned would be the most difficult. Stiles would have to recognize his spark and force it to come out.”

“That’s kind of hard to do when he’s being controlled by the Nogitsune.”

“I know. That’s why she told me the best way to do it would be send someone into his head.”

I looked over at Derek curiously, but his gaze was focused intently on the navy bedspread. “How are we supposed to do that? The only way I’ve ever heard of doing that requires a bit more corporation than I think the Nogitsune is willing to give.”

“We haven’t worked that part out yet.” Lydia stood up and motioned for Jackson to pick her bag up off the floor. “I’m going to bed and you should too. You need to get your strength back. We need every person we can get.”

* * *

 

Waking up the next morning went a lot smoother than it had the night before. My muscles didn’t ache and my vision was a hundred percent blur free. I wasn’t surprised to find that Derek had somehow managed to fall asleep in the chair next to my bed that looked about half his size. His head was tipped to the side so far there was no way he wasn’t going to wake up with a terrible crick in his neck. I was grateful to see he had cleaned all the blood off of him before he fell asleep and he must have eaten something going by the empty plate sitting on the makeshift nightstand.

“Stop staring. It was cute when you were little, but now it’s creepy.”

“This coming from the guy who used to lurk in the shadow of his boyfriend’s room so he could slam him into stuff.”

“I should have known he would tell you about that.”

“We exchanged stories.”

“Fantastic.” Derek held his hand out to me after he stood up. “How do egg sandwiches sound for breakfast? I haven’t had the chance to go shopping.”

“You’re cooking.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t plan on cooking.”

Derek’s hand easily engulfed mine when I took a hold of it so he could help me out of bed and make sure I didn’t go face planting into the floor. The concrete floor was freezing beneath my bare feet, but it didn’t take long for my skin to become used to the chill. My first couple of steps to the kitchen felt shaky since my legs felt like jelly, but with each step I started to get more and more feeling back in them. By the time I reached the kitchen, my whole body seemed to be completely back into working order.

Instead of sitting down like I was initially planning to, I headed to the fridge to start pulling out all the things I knew Derek would need. Eggs, cheese, and ham were placed on the counter next to where Derek was already busy warming up a pan. English muffins were sitting next to the toaster waiting for someone to pop them in. I pulled two out of the package and placed them absentmindedly in the toaster while I listened to the sound of four sets of feet moving around.

The first one to show up in the kitchen was Lydia with her hair French braided messily so strands of red hair fell untidily onto the shoulders of her too big shirt. While she wasn’t wearing makeup, it was obvious she had taken her time to make sure she looked just the right amount of messy. She pulled unconsciously on the cuffs of the plaid shirt she was wearing on her way to the fridge. Six cups of orange juice were poured and waiting on the island for people to take them.

Isaac appeared next looking seconds away from falling onto the floor and going right back to sleep, even if it meant getting stepped on. It wasn’t a surprise when he went straight for one of the barstools and dropped his head onto his crossed arms. Next to wander into the kitchen was Jackson, already dressed for the day with his hair slicked neatly to the side. He took a seat next to Isaac at the bar after grabbing two glasses of orange juice, one of which he placed in front of Isaac. Erica came in last still in her pyjamas and her hair thrown into a bushy ponytail. Her eyes flicked over to where Lydia was leaning against the island and she raised her eyebrows.

“Is that Stiles’s shirt?”

“Yes. He left it over at my house the last time he stayed over.”

Erica rolled her eyes and took a sip of her orange juice. “Of course he did. It’s not like he missed it. He’s got five hundred different plaid shirts.”

“Despite my attempts to change up his wardrobe. It makes a good night shirt though.”

“Maybe between you, me, Cora, Allison, and Kira we can steal them all so he has no choice, but to change things up.”

“He’d figure it out.”

“Leave his shirts alone.” Derek gave a look that I’m sure was supposed to be discouraging, but Erica and Lydia didn’t look phased. “Eggs are almost done. Fix up your sandwiches.”

Everyone bustled around the kitchen trying to get to the cheese and ham before the others could use it all up. I grabbed the two I had already made for Derek and I and went to stand next to him so he could put an egg on each. The other four finished making their breakfast, then went back to where they had been sitting or standing before. Silence fell over the room during breakfast until Erica put her empty plate in the sink and turned to look at everyone.

“So what’s the plan for today? Hide out from Deucalion?”

“Is it even possible to hide from him?”

“I sure hope so. After seeing him transform, I’d like to stay well away from him. No wonder Ennis and the twins used to refer to him as the Demon Wolf. I thought they were just talking about how evil he was when they called him that. I was obviously wrong.”

“He must have a weakness. He is still a werewolf.”

“Sounds like we’re going to need the Argents help.”

“They went home as soon as we got back last night. I’ll call Allison and tell her to bring her dad to the loft along with all the weapons he thinks might be useful.”

“What about the Nogitsune?” Lydia sighed at my question and tugged on the end of her braid thoughtfully. “For my brother to tap into his mind, he’s going to have to sit still long enough to make the connection. Does Deaton have any more of that stuff he used to poison the Nogitsune?”

“No and he had to go to Japan last time to get it.”

“Is there anything else we could use?”

Erica perked up from her place sitting on the counter. “It doesn’t have to poison the Nogitsune right? Just give us long enough to get into his head.”

“I wouldn’t think so. They’re sharing the same brain right now. Poisoning it would keep him from being able to interfere, but all we need is for the Nogitsune to sit still long enough for Derek to make the connection.”

“What about the kanima venom? Deaton kept some in case something like this happened. We just need to get him to touch it and he’ll be paralyzed.”

“That could work.”

* * *

 

After breakfast everyone in the loft disappeared for some reason or another. Derek muttered something about going to the station after getting dressed and left without another word. Jackson and Lydia left to pick up Danny then go to Deaton to get the kanima venom before the Argents showed up later. Isaac stumbled upstairs to get dressed only to come back down and flop onto the couch like he was going to go back to sleep.

With everyone else busy, I decided to take the opportunity to take a nice, long, hot shower to get the sticky feeling off of my skin. It took several minutes to carefully peel my clothes off of my body, probably stuck to my skin by the sweating I did while I was sick. I ended up having to wash my body and hair three times to completely remove the nasty grim. For a while after that I stood under the spray letting the warm water relieve all the stress that had been building up since the Alpha Pack took me.

Shutting off the water took a lot more will power than I would ever admit, but I knew wasting the day away in the shower wasn’t an option. Even with the Alpha Pack in shamble, Deucalion would be difficult to deal with maybe more so if he was looking for revenge. Then there was the Nogitsune, a problem that was more daunting than Deucalion ripping everyone to shreds in anger. It was more interested in pushing buttons and creating chaos, than it was in outright killing everyone. The fact it was using a face that broke Derek a little more each time he saw him, pissed me off to no end.

I pulled on a shirt and jeans that Lydia had picked out for me and topped it off with the leather jacket Stiles had insisted I buy. He had jokingly said it was a requirement to be in Derek’s pack when I had raised my eyebrows at him in the ‘typical Hale fashion.’ The stupid thing had quickly become my favorite piece of clothing because it moved easily and held up well during a fight. Derek didn’t even have to ask me where I got it from the first time I wore it. He just shook his head and said “Stiles” in exasperation under his breath. The small uptick in the corners of his mouth gave his real feelings on the matter away.

When I finally made it downstairs, Isaac was still the only one in the loft and his eyes were glued to the episode of whatever new TV show obsession he was on now. Isaac’s eyes darted to the side to look at me after I sat down, but he said nothing and went right back to watching the TV screen. His eyes looked unfocused for the remainder of the episode and as soon as it finished he turned it off. He continued to stare blankly at the screen until I shifted to sit a little closer to him in the hopes of comforting him.

“Everything’s going to turn out fine. We got Erica and Boyd back. Derek got you back. Deucalion’s the only one of the Alpha Pack left and we know how to save Stiles. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“You don’t sound like you believe that.”

“I want to.” Isaac let his head fall back against the couch cushions with a sigh. “Did you know Stiles was the one who suggested that Derek turn me? He found out my dad had been abusing me and he knew I wouldn’t want to go to the police because he was all I had left. He convinced me to go to the diner with him and Lydia and a friend. Derek wanted to meet me before he agreed.”

“Why do you live with Derek?”

“My dad was the first victim of the kanima. The night Derek bit me I went back home. My dad pushed me and I accidently flashed my eyes at him. He tried to follow me when I ran. He didn’t find me, but the kanima found him. Derek took me in after that.”

“I know sorry doesn’t help. We’ll all get through this.”

“I hope so. I don’t want to lose any of you. It’s been a long time since I’ve had something that feels like family.”

“Me too. After the fire I went to South America. My mom always talked about pack down there. She used to be friends with one of the betas. It wasn’t the same though. Finding out that Derek and Peter were still alive…”

“Must have been nice.”

“More overwhelming, but after I got over the shock it was nice.” I looked down at my hands instead of continuing to look at Isaac.

“What about getting a new pack?”

“Before the fire, pack meant family. Now pack means a bunch of teenagers that always get themselves into sticky situations.”

“That doesn’t mean pack can’t mean family. It will be a different type of family, but it can still mean family.”

“Well with all the dating going on in the pack, I would hope that it’s a different type of family.”

Isaac chuckled airily and patted my clasped hands with one of his. “Incest only works in fiction. People definitely frown on it otherwise.”

“Good thing I’m not interested in my brother or Peter. People frowning at me would get old real fast.”

“Yeah, good thing.”

Isaac brushed a piece of hair out of my face letting his hand linger as he tucked the strand behind my ear with his long fingers. I moved my eyes up to look directly at him and couldn’t help, but notice for the first time his eyes were a beautiful blue color. His hand slipped down to rest on my shoulder then started to move slowly up and down my arm. It wasn’t until he let out a small puff of air, I noticed his face was inches away from my own and getting steadily closer. When his lips were mere millimetres from my own, he stopped moving completely and just stayed hovering uncertainly.

Closing the distance between us felt like a no brainer and at the first touch, I knew it was the right decision. Isaac was by far my first kiss, but trading experimental kisses with a few boys that led to nothing couldn’t begin to compare to this. Slow hesitance quickly turned into gentle exploration to find the right angle, the right pressure. I buried my hands in Isaac’s hair and used my grip on the curly locks to tilt his head a little further to the side. The hand that had been running up my arm wrapped around my waist and pulled so I had to arch my back a little to keep our lips pressed together.

His other hand was just starting to stroke up my back when the loft door groaned open and he immediately stilled. My brother was standing in the doorway, face blank, with two people wearing uniforms standing behind him. Sheriff Stilinski clapped Derek’s back in reassurance, then guided him into the loft so he could have a seat. The younger one looked to be having a hard time keeping control of his facial expressions and looked ready to bust out laughing.

“Glad to see you’re doing better, Cora.”

“Thanks, Sheriff. Who’s the other guy?”

“Deputy Parrish.” The deputy stepped further into the loft and looked around curiously. “I’ve been noticing the strange things happening around town lately. Sheriff Stilinski thought I might be able to help.”

“He said he left his last department because he felt drawn to Beacon Hills.”

Isaac leaned over to whisper in my ear causing my brother to cringe. “Lydia’s going to have a field day about that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	21. Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Nogitsune goes to Derek looking for him to hold up his end of their deal.

_My eyes roamed over the Go board looking for the right place to put my next piece while the Nogitsune loomed over the board. The shadow he cast made it difficult to see where all the black piece on the board were. I let my hand hover over one of the piece, but ended up deciding to leave that one where it was for the moment. The Nogitsune clicked its metal teeth together and drummed its fingers on the tree stump to try to get me to make my move faster._

_“You leaning over me like that isn’t going to make me chose sooner. If you wanted to play a timed game we should have played chess.”_

_“This game is better.”_

_“Do you even know how to play chess? You can’t say this game is better if you’ve never played chess.”_

_The nogitsune gnashed its teeth together in frustration then let its mouth twist into a terrifying smile. “Fine. We finish this game, then we play chess.”_

_“Finally. I’m getting sick of playing Go. I think I’ve played enough Go to last me a lifetime.”_

_“We’re having fun.”_

_“Sure we are.”_

_“We could be causing chaos or killing people. We enjoy doing that.”_

_“You enjoy doing that. I don’t want to cause chaos or kill people!”_

_“We almost have what we want, Stiles. Tonight we’re going to get what we’ve been waiting for. She’s going to give it to us.”_

_“I hope Chris Argent puts a bullet right between our eyes.”_

_“What would our father think?” The Nogitsune shuffled around the Go board so his bandaged face was inches away from mine. “He would be devastated to lose us.”_

_“At least he’d be alive.”_

_“What about Derek? He can’t lose us too.”_

_“You don’t give my friends nearly enough credit. They’re going to find a way to get rid of you and when they do I hope you remember this moment.”_

_“Our friends couldn’t even save Cora without my help. How do you expect them to save you?”_

_“I never said they would save me. I said they’d find a way to shove you right back into that godforsaken tree where you belong.”_

_“We will not!” The Nogitsune was yelling directly into my face so I could see and hear every click of his teeth as he did so. “We will make them scramble to figure out what’s going on. We will make sure the world around them crumbles. We will tear them apart piece by piece. By the time we’re through with them, they’ll be begging us to kill them.”_

_“You won’t get the chance.”_

_“We already do. We’re just biding our time. Letting the chaos build up.”_

_I looked down at the board once again and finally made my move. “Your turn.”_

_“We’re winning, Stiles. No matter what way you look at it, we’re winning. We’re always winning.”_

_“Your turn.”_

* * *

 

Nobody in the loft noticed us standing in front of the large wall of windows with our hands stuffed in our pockets casually. The seven werewolves didn’t pick up on the sound of an extra beating heart and continued to argue amongst themselves about Deucalion. Chris and Allison were lying out an arsenal of weapons on a table ranging from guns to knives to cattle prods. We smiled at the sight of Kira talking to Lydia, Danny, and our father like a normal teenaged girl, but the swirling foxfire around her gave her away. The newest addition to the group was the one who ended up spotting us and his face paled considerably when he caught sight of us.

“Stiles.”

“Deputy Hot Stuff. We weren’t expecting to see you here.” Derek moved across the room quickly so he was standing in between us and the rest of the occupants of the room like he would actually be able to stop us. “We’ve come to collect. Hope this isn’t a bad time for you.”

“Like you care.”

“You hurt our feelings. We only want what you promised us. Nothing wrong with that.”

“What’s he talking about?”

“You didn’t tell your sister.” Out of the corner of our eye we noticed Chris Argent’s face wrinkled in confusion for a split second before he managed to school his feature. “Or your hunter friends. We expected better from you. We’re disappointed in you, Derek”

Derek ground his teeth together trying to distract us from the movement of his hand that we managed to easily catch in our own. The ring dagger Derek had been holding fell to floor after we twisted his wrist as far to the side as it could go. The sound of it hitting the floor was like that of a gun going off as it reverberated around the loft. We bared our teeth in anger and threw down Derek’s hand so we could grab a hold of the front of his shirt.

It didn’t take much effort to throw Derek clear across the room and right into one of the many concrete pillars supporting the place. His head hit with a heavy thud and he dropped to the floor without another sound. Jackson was the next to launch himself at us, but all it took was a slap across the face to send him spinning through the air. Boyd, Erica, and Isaac attacked all at once and ended up slamming into each other when we took a large step backwards. Cora jumped over the three tangled bodies and smashed into the window behind us when we ducked out of her way. The sound of a gun cocking to my left dragged our attention away from the chaos around me and to Chris pointing his gun directly at our head.

“What are you waiting for, Chris? Do your job. Pull the trigger.”

“I will if I have to. Don’t think I won’t. ”

“We want you to pull the trigger.” We took a stepped closer to Chris until the barrel of his gun was pressed firmly against our forehead. “Pull the trigger. Pull the trigger!”

A second gun cocking made our heartbeat faster in anticipation. “Get that gun away from my son.”

“We can’t let him keep killing people. Something has to be done.”

“I said to put the gun down.”

“Do you want the responsibility of the next people to die to be on your shoulders? This is not your son. Not anymore! It’s a killing machine.”

“Put the gun down.”

“No more people die.”

“Put it down!”

“Stop it! It’s what he wants you to do.” Allison had a pleading look on her face that he father was trying resolutely not to look at, but failing miserably. “It wants us to fight amongst ourselves! It’s feeding off of this. We’re only helping it get what it wants! We’re supposed to be working together, not fighting.”

Chris squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then put the safety on his gun and slowly lowered it to his side. Our father followed his lead and took a step back from the other man who was too busy staring down at the floor to notice. Behind him Derek was finally pushing himself off of the floor and into a standing position with his eyes shining alpha red. The others must have moved back during the whole exchange so they were well out of arm’s reach.

“That was fun, but it isn’t why we came here. We had a deal. We held up our end of the bargain. It’s time to collect.”

“Fine. Tell me what you want.”

“Protection.”

Derek’s eyebrows wrinkled in confusion at the statement. “Protection from what?”

“The Oni.”

* * *

 

The second the last ray of sunlight vanished from the loft windows, the Oni appeared standing around the room. They drew their katanas in synch with one another and stood at the ready to start fighting. The people on either side of me shifted restlessly when the Oni started to march towards me perfectly in time with one another. The five Oni gradually got tighter together so we wouldn’t be able to get away from them on our own.

Parrish was the first to attack the Oni and he was more than a little surprised to find that his bullet went straight through the Oni. The werewolves quickly took over the situation, dancing around the Oni to avoid getting hurt each time their claws went right through the Oni. When one of the Oni almost cut Jackson in half, Kira stepped in with her katana to block their move. She spun her katana out from underneath the Oni’s and quickly tried to land several moves of her own that went right through him.

The ones using guns and knives followed Chris’s lead of aiming at the Oni’s masks since it caused their head to whip back from the force. Metal against metal intermixed with the sounds of people grunting and panting while they fought. Boyd got slashed across the arm causing him to hiss out in pain and stumble out of the way when the Oni took another swing. It was obvious the wolves were starting to run out of ideas on how to keep the Oni distracted and out of the way of their gleaming swords.

Jackson and Isaac had just been knocked to the ground when the door to the loft opened, revealing Noshiko. Our eyes immediately went to the small object she was cradling carefully in her hands as she walked in. The Oni immediately stopped what they were doing and retreated back to where they had been when they first got there. We took a step forward knowing that she wouldn’t set the Oni on us until she was done saying her piece.

“I’m giving you a chance now to get out of him. I will not give you another one.”

“We rather like this body. Pass.”

“You leave me no choice then.”

“Why the kanji?” Our hand mimed the drawing of the backwards five we had seen on Derek and Scott and in the basement of Eichen House. “Why put it over his grave?”

“To remember that he died as himself.”

“Such a child-like sentimentality. Obviously immortality does not grant you wisdom. We much preferred it when you were demanding justice. Calling upon the heavens to rain down righteous fury on all those that had wronged you. You begged for chaos and destruction.”

“I was a child then. I wanted different things.”

“And now?”

“Now I plan to keep you from playing your games. I no longer wish for chaos and destruction.”

“That’s unfortunate since we do.”

Before Noshiko could have any chance to react, we shot our hand forward and snatched the last tail out of her hands. We spun the delicate tail against our palm then flicked it up so the poor lighting in the loft glinted off the obsidian surface. When one of the werewolves tried to jump forward to take it from us, we easily stepped back so they went flying right past us. Our hand tightened around the small, sharp object and we looked up right before plunging the tail deep into our abdomen. We could feel the blood seeping out as we dragged the tail slowly across our flesh and the muscles, splitting them seamlessly open.

All the blood rushed out of Noshiko’s face, but she made no move to step forward and take the tail back from us. We made sure to give her a nice, big smile before pulling the tail back out and twisting it thoughtfully around in our hands. The others in the room had looks ranging from shock to disgust to confusion on their face. With a grunt we fell to our knees as pain wracked through our body and made our insides feels like they were being squeezed beyond their limits.

“This is quite the game changer don’t you think? We were wondering when you would finally decide it was time to use the last one. The most powerful one. Not something you would want to lose.”

Our laughter was chocked out of us and bounced off the walls reverberating it through the loft. A buzzing sound started to get louder and louder until it literally popped right out of us. Flies swarmed through the air causing everyone to duck out of the way to avoid getting attacked by them. Using the last of the strength we had, we disappeared from the loft and away from Noshiko and her Oni.

* * *

 

Our back slammed into hard concrete sending shooting pain all along our spine and down to the very tips of our toes. Lights popped up in front of our eyes making everything around us go pitch black for several minutes while our vision came back. We pushed ourself up, being sure to not to put too much strain on the large gash along our abdomen. Blood dripped onto the sidewalk and stained the tops of our light grey shoes a vibrant red.

The lamppost above our head flickered ominously and cast an eerie orange glow onto the deserted street around us. We took a shaky step forward that made the muscles in our stomach burn fiercely at the stretch. Our arm wrapped around the wound to try to keep it from jostling every time we took another step forward. Blood soon soaked through the sleeve of our hoodie and made the skin underneath it become warm and sticky contrasting greatly to the ice cold air.

We managed to get halfway down the empty street before our legs started to feel like lead causing our feet to drag lazily along the concrete. Our eyes slipped partially shut as we continued to force ourself further down the street looking for somewhere out of the way to pass out. An empty parking lot suddenly appeared on our left with only one lamppost to light the huge area. We started to limp across the lot trying to get into an unlit spot away from the street before we passed out from blood lose.

Once we were far enough away from the light and road, we fell to our knees with a loud grunt. All the pain we had been feeling earlier was slowly melting away as we lost more and more blood. We fell gracelessly to our back when our head began to feel too heavy and we couldn’t keep our body up anymore. The ground felt oddly comforting, despite the fact it was so cold it felt like icicles stabbing straight through our fragile skin.

The stars above our head were gradually getting dimmer with every blink of our eyelids and when we tried to turn our head, nothing happened. Our hand dropped from where it had been pressing against our wound to the cold concrete. Cold air blew across the exposed area making it tingle strangely in combination with the slowly drying blood. We finally let our eyes shut when keeping our eyelids opened got to be an impossible task.

* * *

 

_I tapped my finger ideally against the side of the Go board while I tried to come up with multiple scenarios in my head. From the previous games, I had started to pick up on the Nogitsune’s general pattern of play. It moved passively most of the game until I finally ended up making a move that left just enough of a hole for it to exploit. Going on the offensive had been a complete disaster, as had staying on the defensive side the whole time._

_Settling on a mixture of the two was what seemed to have the best results against the Nogitsune. Finding a balance between matching it move for move and making an out of the box move it wasn’t expecting, was my most recent challenge. If I made an offensive move too early or one that it was expecting, it gave him the perfect hole to attack. Staying move for move with him would lead to me getting stretched out just enough for him to strike._

_So far I had gotten inches away from beating him only to have him flip the tables at the last second and end up winning. This game the Nogitsune had seemed particularly restless from the beginning if the fact he kept moving from side to side was anything to go by. I looked up from the board to see it sitting a little closer to the board than it normally did, but I couldn’t help feeling grateful it was sitting still once again. I looked back down at the board quickly to make my move, then gestured for the Nogitsune to take its turn._

_“We’re one move closer to getting what we want. Soon now we’ll have everything we need.”_

_“They’re still going to stop you. It doesn’t matter how strong you think you’re getting. They will stop you.”_

_“We can’t be stop. They don’t know how to stop us.”_

_“They’ll find a way. Lydia will or Deaton or even Morrel. You won’t get what you want.”_

_“Our father couldn’t even let Chris Argent kill us when he had point blank range. They will let us tear them apart before they kill us.”_

_I glared at the Go board so I wouldn’t have to look at the Nogitsune. “My friends will do the right thing. No matter what, they’ll do the right thing. I know that they will.”_

_“They want to save us and they will die trying.”_

_“They don’t want to save us. They want to save me.”_

_“We are the same, Stiles.”_

_“No we aren’t! We are not the same!”_

_“We’ve been the same since Eichen House. There is no separating us now.”_

_“I have never been like you, I’m not like you, and I never will be like you. I don’t want chaos or destruction or death. I don’t want any of that. I just want my life back!”_

_“It’s what we’re good at, Stiles. We know so many things. We’re going to get what we want.”_

_“I don’t want it. I don’t. This isn’t what I want.”_

_“We already have it. It’s in our fingertips, Stiles. We’re so close. Just a little more time.”_

_“They’re going to stop you. Noshiko did it before. You’re not impenetrable. You’re vulnerable. You make mistakes.”_

_The Nogitsune calmly made his move and motioned for me to look down at the board. “We always win the game, Stiles. Always.”_

_I glared at the Nogitsune angrily then turned my attention to the Go board to find that the Nogitsune had once again won. Frustration flooded through my veins at the sight, making me want to fling all of the piece right off of the board. Before I had the chance to do it, the Nogitsune started to set the pieces up for a new game. I balled my hands up against my thighs pulling the fabrics of my jeans tightly in the process causing a twinge of pain at the pinch. The Nogitsune swept his arm just over the top of the board in a signal for me to make my first move of the new game._

_“Stiles!”_

_My eyes snapped up from the board to look around the empty room for the sound of the voice. It sounded so distorted and yet so familiar at the same time. A hand grabbed a hold of my face and turned my attention back to the Go board roughly._

_“Play the game, Stiles.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	22. Lydia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack looks for the Nogitsune so they can save Stiles.

“What the hell was that?” Erica had her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion as she looked from Noshiko to the rest of the pack for an explanation. “Who is this and what did she just let the Nogitsune take from her?”

“She’s the reason the Nogitsune was here in the first place.”

“Really? What about the thing he stabbed himself with?”

“It was my last tail.”

“Your tail? Why would it want your tail? What use is the tail to it?”

“I create the Oni using my tails and the older the tail, the stronger the Oni. That was my last and only tail.”

“And you just let it take it?”

I stepped down from the ladder where Danny and I had been watching the battle play out from a safe distance. “It doesn’t matter. We need to focus on figuring out where the Nogitsune went. He’s weak right now. It’s the perfect time to catch him.”

“I thought the Nogitsune is all powerful or whatever. Why wouldn’t he be able to heal a little cut?”

“The Nogitsune’s power is going to be hindered by its host. Stiles is human so the Nogitsune won’t have super enhanced healing. It will be enhanced, but to the degree a werewolf would have.”

“Should we be worried about Stiles? What happens if his body loses too much blood or something? If he dies while the Nogitsune is controlling him, will saving him kill him?”

“Stiles and the Nogitsune are tied together right now. If his body dies, the Nogitsune would be trapped inside Stiles’s body. It won’t let his body die.”

“So how do we find him?”

I looked over at Danny who shrugged his shoulders. “I could check the surveillance cameras to see if I can find him or maybe where he was last night. Get a general area of where he might be. He might have gotten sloppy. He was injured pretty bad.”

“Could we track him by scent?”

“We haven’t been able to so far.”

“Yes, but Danny just pointed out that the injury may have made him sloppy.”

“It would be pretty easy to catch his scent. Follow the smell of blood right? There’s no way he didn’t leave a trail if he walked somewhere.”

“We’d have to split up to do that and Deucalion is still somewhere probably pissed off about what happened to Kali. He’d gladly rip all of us to pieces.”

“We could go in pairs. Make sure no one is by themselves.”

“You really think two people are going to be able to hold Deucalion off?”

“It’s better than being alone.”

“Why don’t we wait for Danny to take a look at the surveillance video? If Danny can find him, then we don’t have to take an unnecessary risk.”

“We don’t know how long the Nogitsune will be weak. It could already be healed up.”

Derek cleared his throat drawing everyone’s attention to where he was leaning heavily against a pillar. “We don’t need to take any unnecessary risks. Danny will look for the Nogitsune. Scott, take Isaac and Erica and go pick your mom up from the hospital. Bring her here. We’re going to need her to check over Stiles. Jackson, Lydia, Boyd, and Danny go together to get his laptop. Argents set up something around the loft so we don’t have to worry about Deucalion when we get the Nogitsune back here. The Sheriff, Parrish, Kira, Cora, and I will drive around Beacon Hills to see if we can find him. Keep your phone on you so we can get in touch easily with each other.”

“What about the twins? We could use them. Deaton said they were doing a lot better this morning.”

“Alright, then Erica go with Parrish and Cora. The Sheriff, Kira, and I will go together. Scott and Isaac pick up the twins on the way back from the hospital.”

“What do we do if Deucalion shows up?”

“Leave as fast as you can. Don’t pick a fight unless you have to.”

* * *

 

I glared at Jackson until he rolled his eyes and got into the backseat of my car along with Boyd so Danny could sit in the front passenger’s seat. I made sure everyone had their seatbelts buckled before I pulled out of the parking space and stopped behind Scott’s car. He slowly pulled out of the parking garage, then gunned it down the road in the direction of the hospital. Rolling my eyes I turned the opposite direction and started towards Danny’s house at a much more reasonable speed.

“You think Sheriff Stilinski is going to give Scott a lecture about safe driving?”

“Have you seen the way his son drives?”

Danny snorted and tapped his finger thoughtfully against the car door. “You think we’ll be able to find the Nogitsune while it’s still weak?”

“We have to. I doubt we’re going to get another opportunity like this. This is the best chance we’re going to get to save him and keep everyone alive in the process.”

“And you’re sure Derek digging around in Stiles’s head is going to work? It could do a lot of damage to his brain if something goes wrong, right?”

“I’m positive. We can draw out his spark and get the Nogitsune out of him.”

“When you say we…”

“I’m going in there with him.”

“Why?”

“For several reasons.” At the next red light, I turned to look at Danny so I could keep careful stock of his facial expressions. “I’ve spent most of my time the past few weeks looking for a way to save Stiles. I’m not about to risk that going to waste. There’s also the fact that Derek needs backup. He may be the alpha, but he still makes mistakes and needs help. Plus if something goes wrong while we’re in there that can’t be solved with fangs and claws, I’ll be of more use than Derek.”

“Do you even know how the mind link thing works?”

“The only one who’s done it before is Peter and I’m not going to him for help.”

“Maybe you should.”

“No. I don’t trust him and even if I did, he would probably want something from me in return for his help. Derek and I can do this.”

“Sending you in there seems like an unnecessary risk. The Nogitsune is still going to be in there.”

“I’ll have Derek to take care of me.”

“What if you get separated somehow?”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know, but if you did get hurt trying to save Stiles while in his mind, Stiles would feel awful.”

“It will be fine.”

The car fell into an uneasy silence that had partially to do with Danny and I’s conversation and partially to do with the pressure of having to find Stiles. My eyes stayed glued to the road in front of me so I wouldn’t be distracted by the worried faces of the other teens in the car. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel once I completed another left hand turn to give my head something to focus on other than all the thoughts running through my head. The leather creaked slightly under the pressure until I finally let up on my death grip.

“Uh, Lydia?”

I pulled up to a stop sign and turned to look at Boyd since he rarely ever said anything. “What is it? Did you pick up on Stiles’s scent?”

“No. I just wanted to make sure you know you’re going around in circles.”

“What?”

“You’ve made eight left turns.”

“And this is nowhere close to my house.”

“It’s probably because of the stress. I told you I should have been the one to drive us to Derek’s.”

“It could be a banshee thing.” Danny looked around the street, then pointed towards an empty parking lot a little ways from the stop sign. “Park over there. We can get out and investigate. Maybe the werewolves will pick up on something.”

“Fine.”

The strange feeling in the back of my head I had become aware of after Boyd pointed out I had been driving in circles only got worse the closer to the parking lot I got. My eyes scanned the parking lot thoroughly looking for whatever was making my banshee sense go absolutely haywire. They ended up landing on a body lying perfectly still in the middle of the lot not far from the only lamppost. I quickly parked the car as close to the body as I was comfortable with and shot out of the car.

A familiar mess of brown hair caught my eye followed by long eyelashes resting against prominent cheekbones and a slightly upturned nose. I quickly dropped to my knees next to Stiles and lifted up his shirt to inspect the damage the Nogitsune had done with Noshiko’s tail. Dried blood was caked on his abdomen and made pulling his shirt up extremely difficult. The wound itself looked to be in a lot better shape than I had been expecting it to be in. It wasn’t as deep or long as I remembered the Nogitsune making the cut and didn’t look to be bleeding anymore.

Danny wrapped his arm around my waist to help me up, while Boyd and Jackson carefully picked up Stiles’s body. The two set him down in the middle of the backseat then turned to look at Danny and I with identical looks of uncertainty on their faces. I took a deep, calming breath to get my thoughts into order.

“You two stay in the back with him. If the Nogitsune wakes up, you two will have to hold him still until I can pull over. Danny, call Derek. I’ll get us back to the loft since we don’t need your laptop anymore.”

* * *

 

Scott came running into the loft tugging his mom, who was carrying a first aid kit tightly in one hand, behind him. He immediately pulled up a chair for his mom to sit on and motioned for her to get started on checking over Stiles. Mrs. McCall was just lifting up Stiles’s shirt when Isaac came stumbling into the loft with both the twins leaning against him heavily. Isaac let out a groan after he dropped the two werewolves onto the couch then plopped down in an empty chair.

“Thanks for the help, Scott. Really glad you left me with the easy job.”

“Is he going to be alright?”

“Why are you ignoring me? You know my father used to lock me in a freezer. This is pulling out all that old childhood trauma.”

“Well? Is he alright?”

Melissa rolled her eyes fondly and started to pull things out of her first aid kit. “He’ll be fine. There are already signs that the wound is healing. I’m going to disinfect the wound and wrap it up. Do you have the kanima venom on hand in case he wakes up?”

“I’ve got it right here, mom.”

“Excellent. Leave it there. Anyone who isn’t needed here should leave. The less people here to get hurt if something goes wrong, the better.”

“But mom-”

“No. I can take care of this. Take the others to our house.”

“Shouldn’t one of us stay until Derek gets here? What about Deucalion?”

“Derek just pulled up! In case you were wondering.” Isaac dropped back down into his chair before Scott had the chance to glare at him.

“Get going. All of you.”

“I’m staying. Danny, you can drive my car.”

“Why don’t I get to drive your car?”

“I’ve been in the car with you, Jackson. That’s why you don’t get to drive my car.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at Jackson until he finally relented. “You heard Melissa. Go. We can handle this. I’m sure Derek is making the others go, too.”

“Be safe.”

Jackson pulled me into an overdramatic kiss that had several people in the room rolling their eyes so hard I could practically hear them rattling. Once I was up right again I took the opportunity to smack Jackson over the head, then pressed a light kiss to his lips. Jackson’s hand lingered on my waist for a split second longer than usual before he pulled away and headed straight out of the loft. Danny gave me a knowing look as he took my keys from my hand and followed behind the others leaving the loft.

An encouraging pat on my shoulder turned my attention from the door, to the concerned looking woman standing next to me. She gave me a kind smile to go along with the reassuring circles she was gently rubbing in between my shoulder blades. I let my head fall to the side when a sudden burst of exhaustion washed over me so it was now resting on Mrs. McCall’s shoulder. The comforting hand on my back didn’t stop moving until Derek, Sheriff Stilinski, and Deputy Parrish walked through the open loft door.

“What are you still doing here, Lydia?” Derek’s voice reverberated through the unusually empty loft. “You should go with the others.”

“You’re not going in there alone. I’m coming too.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“I’ve already heard this speech and it hasn’t changed my mind. It will be easier if two of us go in. You be the muscle and I’ll be the brains.”

“There’s no way I can convince you not to do this is there?”

“No.”

* * *

 

Mrs. McCall carefully taped on the wrap she had been meticulously winding around Stiles’s abdomen, then set back to inspect her work. She sent Derek a satisfied nod when he raised his eyebrow at her and rose from the plastic chair she had been working in. Her hand ran through Stiles’s messy hair in a motherly way that had my breathe catching in my throat. The last thing she did was open the vial of kanima venom and use a large q-tip to swab a fair amount of the stuff onto Stiles’s hand.

Even though Stiles was unconscious, it was easy to tell when the paralysis took effect. The small twitches and shifting Stiles had been doing stopped almost immediately making it almost appear as though he was dead. The steady rise and fall of his chest was the only thing that let the non-werewolves in the room know he was still alive.

“What was that stuff?” Deputy Parrish was leaning forward in interest trying to get a look at the vial Mrs. McCall was carefully closing back up.

“Kanima venom. It has paralytic effects if you touch it. It will keep him still while we try to save him.”

“Right and how are you going to save him? Erica tried to explain it to me, but I got kind of confused.”

“Derek and I are going to mind link with Stiles to get him to awaken his spark. That will change his body and force the Nogitsune out.”

“And how do you mind link with him?”

“Derek’s claws.”

“Right. Is this an alpha thing?”

“No. Betas can do it to, but it’s more difficult and it’s already dangerous enough when an alpha does it. One wrong move and there can be severe consequences.”

“I’d say you’re all insane, but it’s a little late for that. So why aren’t you guys doing it now?”

Derek rubbed a hand over his face then let his arm flop back to his side. “It’s dangerous to do it while someone is sleeping or unconscious. You can get lost in the jumble of memories if you do it then. We have to wait until he wakes up.”

“How long does the kanima venom work?”

“It depends. Since Stiles is human it should last an hour or two, but with the Nogitsune in there it could be a lot less. He’s healing a lot faster than he should be able to.”

“What do we do if the kanima venom wears off when he’s awake?”

“Hope it doesn’t decide to kill us for fun.”

“It already plans to kill us for fun.” Sheriff Stilinski pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation at my comment and looked over at Mrs. McCall for help. Mrs. McCall moved to stand by the Sheriff and wrapped her arms around his waist in what looked like a far more familiar gesture than she probably meant it to look. He immediately released the tension in his body and moved his arm around her shoulders in comfort.

I turned my attention back to Parrish and Derek to give the obvious couple some privacy. “Will the Oni just go away if the Nogitsune is removed from Stiles? I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining, but it’s kind of difficult to fight something that isn’t really there.”

“I don’t know. Noshiko is the one who created the Oni. She would have to be the one to get rid of them.”

“What about the other problem you’re having? That Deucalion person. How does he fit into all of this?”

“He was part of the Alpha Pack. Ennis and Kali are dead and the twins are in our pack now. Deucalion is going to look for revenge and I’m sure he’ll wait until we’re at our most vulnerable to get it.”

“How do you stop him? Cora said he was some kind of demon wolf or something.”

“We’re not worrying about that right now.” Parrish looked at me in surprise for cutting his questioning off. “We have more important things to focus on. Like Stiles.”

“I thought you have that all figured out. You go in and start up his spark.”

“Nothing in the supernatural world is that simple. There’s always something. A twist.”

“Or maybe what you’re looking at isn’t a riddle. It’s just a question that you already know the answer to.”

“It’s too risky to assume that. We have to prepare for the worst. We’re not going to be able to waltz right into Stiles’s head and talk to him. The Nogitsune has a hold over him. It’s not going to let us have what we want because we ask for it.”

“So take it back.”

“We will. We have to make it through the game first.”

“Cheat.”

I snapped my eyes up from where they had wandered to stare out the window to where Parrish was casually leaning against a table. “What?”

“The Nogitsune is playing a game right? He’s got a set a rules that you all have been following. Cheat. Get the one up on him by going against the rules.”

“That’s… not a terrible idea.”

“Well I’m known for having a good one every now and then. It goes along with the being a deputy and solving crime thing I do.”

“You and Stiles can never be friends.”

“I think that’s up to me to decide.” Stiles groaned and looked around the room in confusion. “Am I at the loft? The last thing I remember is the Nogitsune stabbing me in the stomach.”

“I wrapped it up already. You’re going to be fine.”

“I didn’t hurt anybody did I? Please tell me I didn’t hurt anyone. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t. I was just stuck there watching when it would let me. There was nothing I could do. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, honey.”

Mrs. McCall moved forward to hug Stiles when he started to cry, but she instantly stopped when Stiles’s face went absolutely blank. “Really, Melissa? We shed a few tears and you break. What would you have done if we had broken down? Bring us some hot chocolate and a warm blanket. That always makes everything better right?”

“I hope you know I’ll tear the world apart to get my son back from you.”

“We’re not even your child. You always try to act like you’re our mother, but you’re not. You’re nothing like Claudia. We could never love you the way we loved her. You’re not good enough for us. No matter how hard you might try.”

“Did someone bring something for its mouth?”

“Can’t stand to hear the truth, Melissa? Let me tell you something else. Dating daddy isn’t going to change anything. You’ll never be our mother. You’re just the woman who sort of manages to fill a void in our heart. Let’s be honest here. You can’t even take care of your own son. He doesn’t respect you, so why should we?”

Mrs. McCall stood up on shakily legs and grabbed the roll of duct tape Derek had been holding out to her. She quickly pulled off a long, grey piece with a loud ripped then carefully pressed the tape over the Nogitsune’s mouth. Her hands smoothed down the edges making sure to get the very edges of the tape as stuck to Stiles’s skin as possible. The Nogitsune narrowed its eyes so fiercely I had to suppress the urge to shiver in fear.

“Am I the only one that gets the feeling we don’t actually have the upper hand right now?”

“No. It’s definitely up to something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	23. Scott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something strange happens to the werewolves while Lydia and Derek go into Stiles's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To avoid any confusion, I wanted to warn you all that the next couple of chapters are going to have some overlapping. This chapter and the next are happening at the same time. Chapter 25 and 26 also have a lot of overlap.

Allison ran a comforting hand through my hair and scratched at my scalp to try to calm me down. The ride to my house had been nerve wrecking with thoughts of how horribly Lydia’s plan to save Stiles could go wrong. Everyone in the car must have sensed my anxiety because no one said a word the entire ride, even though I could tell the twins were dying to ask a few questions. Even after we went into the house, we all stayed quiet until the others started to show up.

I ended up completely zoning out during the time it took for me to arrive and Allison to show up with her father in tow. For once I didn’t actually notice that Allison had shown up until she was gently guiding my head down to rest in her lap. Her hands had immediately started to run through my hair in comfort while I started to pick back up on the things going on around me. Voices started to filter back in followed by the sound of people fighting.

“What the hell?” Jackson growled out sounding like he was seconds away from ripping someone’s head right off of their shoulders. “What is wrong with you two? Deaton fixed you two idiots so you could be useful to the pack, not so you could tear each other apart.”

“They weren’t acting that way earlier. They were perfectly fine in the car.”

“Maybe if you paid more attention you would have been able to figure out something was wrong with them sooner.”

“Maybe the only reason they’re acting this way is because you’re a complete asshole and it’s rubbing off on them.”

“You think you’re so clever, Lahey.”

“Better than being a complete douche nozzle like you.” Isaac had moved to stand inches away from Jackson so they were practically in each other’s faces. “If you weren’t such a gigantic dick, you wouldn’t have turned into the kanima or did you forget about that?”

“You little!”

Jackson threw a punch that nailed Isaac right in the nose causing a loud crack to fill the air when it broke under the pressure. Cora was quick to grab a hold of Isaac to keep him from trying to retaliate for the now broken nose Jackson had given him. Before Jackson could take advantage of the fact Isaac was being held back, Boyd pinned his arms to his side without much effort. The two continued to glare at each other, but didn’t try to shake off the person holding them back.

“Why are you two idiots fighting? We’ve got more important things to focus on than your petty argument. An argument that was completely pointless in the first place.”

“He started it.”

Cora’s face pinched up in exasperation. “Are you five? What does it matter who started it? You two are acting ridiculous. Get your acts together.”

“Let go of me. I want to rip his face off.”

“What is wrong with you?”

“I told you to let me go!”

“Shit.”

Isaac eyes flashed dangerous and he thrashed his body around to try to get out of Cora’s firm grip that seemed to be slipping. I quickly stood up to try and help Cora hold back the now fully wolfed out Isaac, but he managed to break free of her grasp before I could get there. A clawed hand came speeding towards my face only to stop short when Cora jumped onto Isaac’s back. He tried to buck her smaller body off of him, but her arms were wrapped so tightly around his neck he couldn’t get rid of her.

I took advantage of his momentary distraction by pinning his arms to the side like Boyd had done to Jackson earlier. A blur in the corner of my eye caught my attention drawing it away from Isaac and to where the twins had just run out the front door. They left an unconscious Erica and Mr. Argent in their wake and the front door swinging freely on its hinges. Things only got worse when the sound of someone getting slammed into a wall was followed by another crazed looking werewolf running out the door.

“What is going on with them?”

“I have no idea. They were acting normal and then all of a sudden it was like they couldn’t control their anger anymore.”

“What are they so angry about?”

“No clue.” Cora let out a grunt and tightened her grip further on Isaac’s neck until he started to splutter helplessly. “It’s like they all snapped.”

“At the same time? Doesn’t that seem a little strange?”

“Seriously? Things are been strange since the Alpha Pack took me. I don’t really have a new scale of strange set up yet.” Isaac knees gave out under him causing Isaac and I to both fall to the unceremoniously fall to the floor. “You can let go of him now.”

“What did you do to him?”

“Cut off his air way. Your brain needs oxygen to function. Cut it off long enough and you pass out.”

“How long will he be out for?”

“Not long enough, but we can’t worry about that right now. Jackson, Ethan, and Aiden are out there right now and who knows what they’re doing.”

“I don’t think they’ll hurt anybody. It looked like they were more interested in going after each other than the people around them.”

“And when someone decides to step in or accidently stumbles into them? Do you think they’re going to let that person go?”

“You have a point.”

“We should get Deaton here. He’ll know what’s wrong.”

“Better make it quick. They’ll not going to wait around for us to figure our shit out.”

“Kira and I will go after them.” Allison motioned for the other girl to follow her after she dug the keys out of her dad’s jacket. “My dad has some stuff in his trunk we can use to corral them. It should buy you both and Deaton enough time to figure out what’s wrong with them.”

“I’m not so sure you-”

“Scott, we can handle this. I’ve got my crossbow with me and Kira has her katana. If we have to, we’ll injury them enough to slow them down. Nothing permanent. It will work. Deaton will need you here to explain what happened and help move the bodies somewhere more comfortable.”

I hesitantly nodded my head at Allison and watched as the two girls sped out of the still wide open front door. Cora rolled her eyes at me then proceeded to move Erica’s body from the hardwood floor to the much comfier coach. The sound of Boyd groaning loudly from where he was partly propped up against a wall drug me out of my thoughts. With a little effort, I helped Boyd shuffle over to one of the chairs and sit down heavily in the seat.

“Hurry up and call your boss. I’d like him here before Isaac wakes up.”

* * *

 

“And you said that he randomly started showing signs of aggression? There wasn’t any sort of build up to it?” Deaton opened one of Isaac’s eyelids and shone a light in his eye, then he did the same with the other one. “It doesn’t look like he’s been poisoned. Of course that would be more of a concern if it were you, Isaac, and the twins effected. The fact Jackson was also acting like that is strange.”

“Do you know of anything that could do something like this?”

“Certain strands of wolfsbane, but like I said before that’s very unlikely. There’s no pupil dilation and you, Cora, Boyd, and Erica were unaffected.”

“So what do you think it is?”

“Has Isaac had an open wound recently?”

“Yes. One of the Oni slashed up his shoulder and Jackson got cut across the chest.”

Deaton hummed thoughtfully, then motioned for me to hold Isaac up so he could inspect the shoulder he had injured. “The wound has completely healed. Do either of you know how long it took to heal?”

“It was still finishing up healing this morning. I thought it was strange since the wound wasn’t made by an alpha.”

“The Oni aren’t from this world. They’re part of the void world as are their weapons.”

“What does that mean?”

“The damage done by their blades isn’t going to act the same as one done by a blade from this world. It’s most likely why it took so long to heal.”

“This better have something to do with why Isaac went psycho.” Cora had her arms crossed over her chest and a pissed off expression that made her look like her brother on her face. “We don’t really have any time for you waste.”

“Werewolves might not get infections from bacteria getting into wounds, but sometimes other things can get in.”

“What kinds of other things?”

“Scott told me that the Nogitsune released flies after it was stabbed. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“It’s possible one of the flies could have gotten into the wound and caused the erratic behavior.”

My jaw dropped open in shock at what Deaton had just said. “Are you saying a fly made Isaac act that way? How is the even possible?”

“The flies aren’t normal flies. They were created by the Oni for his own use.”

“So he’s using flies to possess Isaac, Jackson, and the twins?”

“A temporary possession, but yes I think that’s what’s going on.”

“You only think that’s what’s going on. How can you be sure?”

“Get Isaac to the shower. If the Nogitsune was using the fly to possess him, then it should be lodged in his throat.”

“Why?”

“Like I said, the fly is a temporary means of possession. It is meant to pass through the system.”

“That’s disgusting.”

* * *

 

Getting Isaac up the stairs was the easy part of what Deaton wanted us to do so he could check to make sure his theory was correct. The next part required Cora and I to somehow prop him up in the shower while Deaton dug around in Isaac’s throat. Finding a position that didn’t end up with one or all of us ending up on the floor was a lot harder than Deaton made it sound like it would be. Cora ended up shoving me around until we finally got Isaac in the right position for Deaton to work.

Deaton flicked the shower on instantly soaking Isaac and I in freezing cold water, while he and Cora only got their arms wet. He tipped Isaac’s head back so his mouth fell open under the spray and began to fill up with water. I watched in interest as Deaton carefully guided his gloved hand into Isaac’s mouth, despite the fact he could wake up at any second with his fangs out. It took Deaton several minutes of digging in Isaac’s throat to find what he had been looking for and to pull his hand back.

In Deaton’s raised hand was a small black fly that he quickly washed down the drain. “It would seem that the Nogitsune is to blame for this. We need to get the flies out of Aiden, Ethan, and Jackson to ensure no permanent damage.”

“Permanent damage?”

“The possession may be temporary, but the effects from the fly can have lasting damage on the host.”

“I don’t think the others are going to let you shove your hand down their throat. They were ready to tear out someone’s throat the last time we saw them.”

“You’ll need to either knock them out or hit them hard enough to dislodge the fly’s hold on them.”

“Is Isaac going to be alright?”

“He’ll be fine. His werewolf healing will fix any damage the fly may have inflected on the inside of his body. It is merely a matter of time.”

The sound of my phone going off distracted us from any other questions we may have had about Isaac’s condition. Cora quickly swiped up the phone and checked the caller id before handing the phone off to me. I glanced at Allison’s name and picture for a split second then immediately pressed the green answer button.

“Scott? Damn it.” The sound of something heavy slamming against a hard surface crackled through the phone followed by the sound of an angry snarl. “That door isn’t going to hold much longer. Take this. Hold it steady. Scott? You still there?”

“Yes. What’s going on? Are you and Kira alright?”

“We’re fine for now. We’ve got them trapped in the locker room at the school, but Finstock’s door isn’t going to hold much longer and we’re running out of ideas.”

“We know what’s wrong with them.”

“What is it?”

“Remember those flies the Nogitsune released?”

“Yes.”

“They’re somehow possessing them. Deaton got one out of Isaac and he can do the same to the others, but we need to knock them out or knock some sense into them to do it.”

Allison hissed in what sounded like pain then dropped the phone for a few second. “Hurry up and get here then. Kira and I aren’t going to be able to take out all three of them by ourselves.”

* * *

 

The sounds of snarling could be heard as soon as Cora and I got out of the car in the high school parking lot. We both sprinted down to the locker room picking up speed as the sounds of fighting got louder and louder. My hand was pushing open the locker room door when a body slammed against it making the entire wall shake from the impact. Whoever it was didn’t slump down to the ground, but got right back up and joined right back up in the fight raging inside.

Jackson was the first one to come into view after I got the door open wide enough for Cora and I to get through. Crossbow bolts were sticking out of his shoulder and thigh, although they didn’t seem to be having any impact on him whatsoever. Another one went whizzing through the air and lodged deep into his other thigh causing his knee to buckle from the force. Cora shoved passed me and slammed Jackson’s head hard against the concrete wall behind him instantly knocking him out.

I followed Cora around the corner to find Allison and Kira holding the other’s weapon while they were being circled by the twins. My first instinct was to jump in front of Allison to protect her, but I knew doing that could cause a lot more harm than good. Instead, I waited patiently next to Cora for the twins to finally make their move leaving them vulnerable to our attack. Allison was attacked first from the back, something she must have been anticipating since she expertly spun the blade through the air and into the twin’s thigh.

While the twin was trying to regain his footing, I tackled him from behind sending us both crashing to the hard floor. A set of claws dug into my arm making me wince in pain and giving the twin the perfect opening to flip the tables. He rolled us over so he was on top and from the deranged look in his eyes he appeared ready to bite my head off. Right as he was leaning down to do so something slammed into the side of his head knocking him out cold.

Allison held the hand she wasn’t shouldering her crossbow with down so she could help me back to my feet. As soon as I was up right, I looked over to check on Kira and Cora. Both of them were standing over the body of the other twin looking completely unscathed from their fight. I jumped when I felt fingers pressing against the sensitive skin around the claw marks on my arm, but relaxed again after realizing it was only Allison checking me over.

“Nice of you two to show up.”

“Looked like you two were handling yourselves pretty well to me. You don’t even have a scratch on you.”

“That doesn’t mean it was easy.”

“Never said it did.” Cora flicked her hair out of her face and turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow. “Are you going to call Deaton so he can deal with them or what? I’m not about to shove my hand down any of their throats.”

“What? That’s how he got the fly out?

“Yes and I’m not about to do it for him. I like my hand where it is.”

“At least it’s a relatively easy fix.”

“As long as he gets it out of them quickly it is.”

“What happens if he doesn’t get it out fast enough?”

Cora shrugged her shoulders. “Deaton didn’t really go into much detail. He didn’t really seem concerned about it actually happening either. It probably takes a longer exposure time to really have any chronic effects.”

“Right. What about Derek? Should someone call him? Let him know what happened.”

“He’s probably busy messing around in Stiles’s head. We’ll wait for him to call us. We don’t want to risk causing problems.”

Allison nodded and dropped down onto one of the benches with a heavy sigh. Kira followed Allison’s lead as did Cora after the other two were comfortably leaning against each other for support. Kira kicked her feet up on the bench and leaned further into Allison who leaned further into Cora as a result. I pulled my phone out and dropped down next to Cora so all of them could let their weight lean against my body.

* * *

 

“Last one.” Cora and I gripped tightly onto Jackson’s arms to keep him up while Deaton worked on pulling the fly out of his throat. The twins were already awake and grimacing at what Deaton was doing, while Allison and Kira filled them in on what happened. Neither of them remembered anything past being dumped into the back of my mom’s car after Isaac and I picked them up from Deaton’s.

“Finally.” Cora let out a sigh of relief when Deaton pulled his hand out of Jackson’s mouth fly in hand. “If this ever happens again, someone can hold up the unconscious bodies.”

“Hopefully this never happens again.”

“Again would be too soon.”

Deaton dropped the fly down the drain and pulled his gloves off. “I agree. Now I must get back to the clinic. I do have an actual job to do. Keep a close eye on them to make sure they heal properly. Bring them in if anything appears off.”

“Got it. Thanks for doing this.”

“It’s my job as an emissary to help the pack, Scott. All you have to do is ask.”

“Of course.”

Deaton’s eyes ran over the three werewolves he had helped one more time before he left the room with his bag in hand. The only sound in the room after the door shut was the water still streaming out of the showerhead Deaton had been using. I shut the water off after making sure to check that the last fly Deaton had pulled out was safely down the drain.

“Are we sitting around until Jackson wakes up or are we carrying him to one of the cars?”

“If it doesn’t make a difference to either of you, I’d like to get out of here.” Kira looked absolutely exhausted as did Allison who was eagerly agreeing with her. “Plus, it kind of stinks in here.”

“Boys are disgusting.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“Thanks. Really feel the love.”

“Sorry, Scott.”

“I’m not.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to be. How should with do this?”

Cora moved to stand by Jackson’s feet then motioned for me to move over to Jackson’s shoulders. We lifted up Jackson’s body without any problem and followed the others out of the locker room. Shoving Jackson into the back of the Argent’s SUV took a lot more maneuvering than any of us wanted to deal with. Cora ended up having to crouch onto the backseat and slowly scoot backwards until Jackson was all the way in.

“He better be awake by the time we get back. I’m not carrying his heavy ass inside. You can drag him or leave him in the car if he isn’t awake.”

“He probably won’t just to spite us.”

“We should have let Isaac get a few hits in before we stopped him.”

I snorted at the image of Isaac giving Jackson a couple of black eyes that popped into my head. “He got shot with a crossbow.”

“That kind of makes up for it.”

“Why do you think the Nogitsune went through all this trouble? What was the point?”

“Who knows? That thing is insane.”

“We should get going.” Allison rubbed her hand up and down my arm to get my attention. “This isn’t the place to be talking about this. Plus, Danny and the other werewolves will want to have a part in this conversation.”

My phone started ringing and buzzing in my pocket. “Right. That’s probably them now. Danny was pretty worried when we left. Hello?”

“Scott.”

“Stiles?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	24. Derek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek and Lydia try to break the Nogitsune's hold on Stiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember this chapter takes place at the same time that chapter 23 is happening.

“So…” Parrish looked awkwardly around the room when the uncomfortable silence seemed to be too much for him anymore. “Are we going to do the mind link thing now or what?”

Lydia looked at me expectantly and raised an eyebrow when all I did was look from her to Stiles with an uncertain look at my face. She let out a put upon sigh, then moved across the room to sit next to Stiles on the couch. The Nogitsune dramatically let its head fall to the side so he was looking directly at Lydia with his eyes wrinkled up in amusement. Lydia let out a huge sigh and crossed her arms over her chest in defiance at the Nogitsune’s obvious taunting.

“Let’s get this over with. I’m sick of looking at that smug face.”

“It’s going to be painful.”

“Really? Having you claws shoved into my neck is going to be painful? I’m shocked.”

“Is this you trying to defuse the tension?” I moved to stand behind Lydia and the Nogitsune and placed my hands on the back of their necks.

“Is it working?”

“Not really. Maybe you should leave the ridiculous sarcasm to Stiles.”

Lydia nodded her head then motioned for me to start only for Sheriff Stilinski to clear his throat before I could. “Both of you be careful. We need all three of you coming out of this alive and Derek?”

“Sheriff?”

“Don’t let him be too hard on himself. None of this is his fault.”

“I can do that.”

“Get going then. It’s about time that thing got out of my son.”

“We’ll get him back.”

“I know.”

Sheriff Stilinski motioned for me to start the mind link with a wave of his hand between Lydia and the Nogitsune. I took a deep, calming breathe before letting my claws slide out and plunging them into the back of both of their necks. A thrum of energy pulsed through my arms causing my body to convulse at the strange feeling of being mentally connected to two people. My eyes slid shut as the feeling took over my body pulling me into darkness.

* * *

 

_When I opened my eyes again, I was staring up at an off-white ceiling that looked like it had seen better days. I tried to pull my arms back so I could sit up, but something was tying my wrists tightly to the bed underneath me. I pulled experimentally on them to see if there was any leeway and found that I couldn’t even twist my wrists around in them. I turned my head to the side to see Lydia in the exact same boat that I was in._

_“Where are we?”_

_“Well were would Stiles have been tied to the bed in a terribly drab room?”_

_“Eichen House.”_

_“Seems like a good guess.” Lydia let out a frustrated sound as she pulled at the restraints wrapped around her wrists and ankles. “This is pointless. Are you going to bust out or what?”_

_“What?”_

_“You’re a werewolf. Pretty sure these restraints aren’t werewolf proof. Break out of them!”_

_“Right.”_

_I balled my hands up into fists then yanked as hard as I could against the wrist restraints until my arms were free. The restraints clanked against the floor after I unlatched them from my wrist. My attention moved to the restraints around my ankles that I quickly undid so I could get up to help Lydia with hers. I took off the restraint around Lydia’s left wrist first, then moved down to free her ankles while she freed her other wrist._

_“Where do we go from here?”_

_Lydia rolled her eyes and got to her feet with a click of her heels against the linoleum floors. “Out the door.”_

_“We don’t know where that will take us.”_

_“The only way to find out is to go through it.”_

_“Fine. Stick close to me. We don’t want to lose each other in here.”_

_“I’ll be right behind you.”_

_Lydia snagged a hold of the sleeve of my shirt to emphasize her point and followed behind me as I walked to the door. Part of me thought the door would be locked from the inside so I would have to break down the door to get us out, but the door swung freely open after I pulled the handle down. I took a tentative step out the door then leaned my head out to check what I thought would end up being a creepy hallway. Instead, the hallway I was stepping into looked surprisingly familiar for some reason that was nagging at me._

_A tug on my sleeve brought me back to the task at hand and encouraged me to step further into the hallway. Two more steps into hallway the hand on my sleeve slipped and Lydia let out a surprised shout that was cut short by a door slamming. My hand immediately reached for the door knob, but this time the door stayed firmly shut. I went to bang my hand against the door only for it to disappear right before my eyes like it had never been there._

_“Damn it.”_

_My head thunked against the wall where the door used to be for a few seconds while I tried to get my thoughts into order. There was no way Lydia would sit around and wait for me to come find her or look for me. She was no doubt working her way through Stiles’s mind to try and find a way to get him to kick start his spark. Finding Lydia would mean finding Stiles._

_I pulled away from the wall and glanced around the hallway looking for some indication as to where I was supposed to go. A door at the end of the hallway was slightly ajar allowing a sliver of light to illuminate the otherwise dark hallway. The closer I got to the door the more sounds I could hear filtering out of the room. A woman was singing softly to a hiccupping baby while she rocked slowly in a rocking chair that creaked every time she pushed it back._

_“Sleep, little baby. You’ve had such a hard day. All that napping, eating, and playing.” The woman went back to humming softly while she stood up from the rocking chair with a squeak. “Night, little one.”_

_I slowly pushed up the door further open to reveal a woman with long brown hair standing over a crib. She had her hands wrapped around the top of the crib so she could lean over the bar and look down at the baby inside it. Her back straightened all of a sudden and she turned around before I had the chance to sneak back out of the room. A smile broke out across her face causing her eyes to crinkle slightly in the corners. My breath caught in my throat at how familiar her smile looked, her up turned nose, the moles splattered around her face._

_“This is one of my favorite memories. He’d been having trouble sleeping and when he finally fell asleep in my arms it was beautiful. He looked so peaceful. There’s no need to fear. You can come closer.”_

_I moved to stand next to Claudia Stilinski and looked down at the now sleeping baby Stiles. “How is this possible?”_

_“You mean how are you talking to me?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Stiles received his spark from me. After I died, a part of my spark latched onto him, in case he ever needed it. Sparks have a built in safety to ensure that our lines continue. There aren’t very many of us.”_

_“How come you didn’t stop the Nogitsune from taking him over then?”_

_“I don’t actually have any power, Derek. I’m not real. I’m a memory of someone who used to be real waiting for when Stiles needs my knowledge.”_

_“If you don’t have any power, how did you bring me to this place?”_

_“I may not be able to force the Nogitsune out, but I can circumvent his will. He doesn’t belong here. Stiles had not fully accepted him into his body and mind yet. Until that happens, I still have a place.”_

_“What about Lydia?”_

_“I was unable to direct you both this way. The Nogitsune caught onto what I was doing.”_

_“This is so confusing.”_

_“I know.” Claudia placed a comforting hand on my arm and gave a firm squeezed. “I did not mean for this to happen. It was my job to take care of the Nemeton. To make sure no one tried to bring it back to power. The day Stiles hit his head on it and spilled he blood I was horrified. The Nemeton never forgets a sacrifice. I knew his sacrifice could be the one to bring it back, even if he didn’t know it. I did whatever I could to keep him safe and out of the supernatural world.”_

_“Why wouldn’t you tell him? Wouldn’t it have been better for him to know?”_

_“I didn’t want to burden him. We do what we think is best for the people we love.”_

_I nodded my head in understanding. “Lydia and I are here to help him.”_

_“I know. I don’t know what the Nogitsune will have waiting for you. It won’t be pleasant, but remember that it’s not real. Nothing can harm you while you’re here.”_

_“Thank you.”_

_“No. Thank you. The front door’s unlocked.” Claudia turned her attention back to the sleeping Stiles with a fond smile on her face._

* * *

 

_As soon as I walked through the Stilinski’s front door, the smell of something burning singed my nostrils and made my stomach turn over. A bright flame was shining through the dense forest in front of me contrasting greatly to the darkness around me. My feet moved unconsciously until I was standing in front of a gigantic house that had been set ablaze. With my werewolf hearing I could pick up on the sound of people screaming for help and sobbing._

_I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block out everything trying to assault my senses. The smell of burning wood and other things was the first thing to disappear. The sound of the fire roaring as it destroyed my childhood home was the next thing to fade away from my senses. The screaming and sobbing took longer to drown out and made me want to rip my ear drums right out of my skull._

_After a few minutes of suspicious senselessness, I decided it would be safe to open my eyes and was shocked to see that the Nogitsune hadn’t moved me to some other horrible memory. In front of me was the familiar shell of a house looking like it would blow over because of the smallest of breezes. I took a deep breath and started to make my way across the dead lawn to the ruined front door. The hinges shrieked in protest when I pushed them open and caused a shiver to run down my spine._

_Floorboard after floorboard creaked ominously under the weight of my body so it seemed like I could fall right through them any second. Everything around me looked exactly the way it had the first time I came back to Beacon Hills looking for Laura. There wasn’t a hole in the middle of what had been the living room floor that Peter had crawled out of after Lydia brought him back. The blood spot in the old dining area where Kate had fallen upon her death wasn’t there. No bullet holes from when the hunters tried to take out Scott and I._

_The sound of someone sobbing for help distracted me from finishing my inspection of the house for any signs of hunters or Peter. My ears picked up on a strange echo like the sobbing was bouncing off of brick walls instead of drifting right through the charred wood. Without bothering to consider that this could be a trick, I headed towards the entrance to the house’s cellar and yanked the door open. As soon as the door was open, the sobbing got so loud it felt like the person crying was right in my ear._

_My foot tested out the first step uncertainly and when it didn’t immediately give way I decided the stairs were safe enough. Each one groaned out in protest as I stepped down them one at a time to avoid accidently putting too much weight on one of them. Once my feet were on solid stone, I quickened my pace to the point I was almost full out sprinting through the cellar. A blast of freezing cold air made me pull up short and look around for where it could have possibly come from. The only thing I found in my search was a brunette leaning against one of the cellar walls looking shockingly pale._

_“Derek? Is that you?”_

_“Paige?”_

_“It’s so cold. It hurts so bad.”_

_“I’m sorry.” I fell onto my knees next to the girl and pulled her into my lap like I remember doing all those years ago. “I never meant for this to happen to you. I never wanted this for you. I’m so sorry.”_

_“Why would you do this to me Derek? I thought you loved me. You told me you loved me. Why did you try to turn me into a monster?”_

_“I didn’t. I promise I didn’t. I would never do that to you. The bite is supposed to be a gift. It’s supposed to be a choice.”_

_“You took my choice away. You took my whole life away. I wanted to play in the Philharmonic. I wanted to travel the world. I wanted to have kids. I wanted a family. You took that from me.”_

_“I didn’t mean to. I never meant to do that to you. I didn’t want this for you. I didn’t.”_

_“Why would you do this Derek? It hurts so bad. I want the pain to stop. I want it to stop.”_

_I turned my face away from Paige so I could blink away the tears that were threatening to fall. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”_

_“Make it stop. Make the pain stop. I can’t do it anymore. It hurts too much. My skin feels like it’s freezing, but my blood is boiling. I can’t take it anymore. You can make the pain stop, Derek. Please take it away.”_

_“I can’t do it again. I’m sorry. I can’t.”_

_“Derek. Please.” My eyes snapped back to the body in my arms at the sound of a distinctive male voice. “It hurts so bad. I can’t take it anymore. Make the pain stop.”_

_“Stiles?”_

_“You promised you wouldn’t do it, Derek. I didn’t want it and now it hurts. It hurts more than anything I’ve ever felt. Stop it!”_

_“What are… This isn’t real. None of this is real.”_

_“Don’t leave me alone. I don’t want to die alone. I don’t want to die. I’m scared.”_

_“You’re not dying. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.”_

_“You’re hurting me, Derek. I can’t take the pain anymore. Please, stop it. Please.” Stiles let out a heart wrenching sob that twisted into an ear splitting scream. “Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!”_

_“It’s not real. Not real. None of it.”_

_I forced my arms to let go of the shaking body in my arms that I knew in my head wasn’t really there. I got to my feet shakily and hightailed it back the same way I had come in with the sound of loud screaming following me. The screaming got louder and louder until it felt like my head was going to explode from the ringing in my ears. My feet pounded against the rickety staircase as I took the steps two at a time to reach the door as quick as my werewolf speed would let me. The last step gave way the second I stepped on it, but it didn’t matter since my body was already barreling through the door._

* * *

 

_My body landed on a cold ceramic floor with an echoing thud that made it sound much more painful than it actually was. All the air I had left in my lungs had rushed out upon impact leaving me breathless and panting desperately for air. I pressed my palms against the cold floor beneath me and pushed myself up until I was standing on slightly shaky legs. Once my lungs stopped feeling like they were on fire, I took a look curiously around the room I had landed in._

_Everything around me was white. Not the dirty off-white Lydia and I had woken up to in Eichen House, but a stark white like hospitals normally had. All around me were white columns that looked perfectly spaced out to keep the large space from collapsing in. Although I could see the end of the room, there was something about the feel of the room that made me think it wasn’t nearly as close as it looked._

_I was just about to turn around so I could inspect the other side of the room, when a body collided into mine. Red hair clouded my vision and the smell of expensive shampoo that Stiles would sometimes smell like assaulted my nose. Lydia quickly got a hold of her bearings and pulled away from where she had been smashed against my chest. She was out of breath just like I had been when I had come fumbling into the room and her cheeks were flushed from exertion._

_“What happened to you?”_

_“I got to relive the night Peter attacked me on the lacrosse field. What about you?”_

_“I saw Claudia.”_

_“What?”_

_“I’ll explain later. It wasn’t really her or it was, but it wasn’t. I didn’t really understand everything she was talking about.”_

_“I get chased around by an insane alpha and you get to have a chat with the woman who would have been your mother-in-law. Seems fair.”_

_“I also got to see my family home on fire with my family inside and my old girlfriend that rejected the bite. Well it was her until she turned into Stiles.”_

_“If the Nogitsune wanted to bring up the worst memories possible, it would appear it succeeded.”_

_“That doesn’t matter now. We got through that.”_

_“And now we’re here. Wherever here is.”_

_“Stiles told me something about this one.” I pressed the meat of my hands against my eyes so I could concentrate on remember what Stiles had said. “He would dream about a white room full of columns. He said the strange thing was… What was it?”_

_“A tree stump?”_

_“Yes!”_

_“It’s still there.”_

_I turned to face where Lydia was staring and was met with the sight of a large tree stump rooted to the floor in the middle of the room. On top of the stump was Stiles and the Nogitsune, completely oblivious to the fact Lydia and I were watching them. The two were too focused on the game board in between them to notice the distractions of the outside world. Lydia and I looked at each other, then took off running towards the tree stump._

_Our footsteps were strangely silent against the hard floor, but that wasn’t the strangest thing about the room. The strangest thing was the fact Lydia and I would run at the tree stump only to end up at the exact same distance we had started running from. We both pulled up to a stop after a few tries and looked hopelessly at Stiles who was sitting so close and yet so far away. Lydia ran a disgruntled hand through her hair while she clicked her tongue thoughtfully against the roof of her mouth._

_“Maybe he can hear us. Stiles!”_

_“Stiles!”_

_“Stiles!”_

_“Stiles!”_

_“Damn it! He can’t hear us. We can’t get to him. There has to be some way to get his attention.” Lydia eyes lit up in realization. “He’s pack.”_

_“I know he’s pack.”_

_“Well how do you call pack?”_

_“You howl.”_

_I sucked in as much air as my lungs could take and let out a thunderous roar._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	25. Kira

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something unexpected happens on the way back from the school.

Allison fiddled nervously with the radio for the third time in five minutes while she kept her eyes fully focused on the road. Once her fingers were back on the steering wheel, she immediately started to tap them restlessly against it. Her eyes flicked up to her rear view mirror so she could check on the still unconscious Jackson in the backseat. She pursed her lips into a thin line and went back to watching the road with an intensity that had me worried.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I’m…” Allison looked over at me for a second, then moved her eyes back to the road with her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m worried. The closer with get to getting rid of the Nogitsune, the more dangerous things become.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Do you know when an animal is most dangerous?”

“No.”

“It’s when they’re backed into a corner. When they’ve got nowhere else to go.”

“Why?”

“Because they have nothing to lose. An animal backed into a corner knows the only chance they’ll have to live is to fight. They’ll to whatever they can to ensure their survival. Anyone who gets in their way is a threat so they kill it or go down trying.”

“You think the Nogitsune is going to start killing people because we have it backed into a corner.”

“Yes. I think it’s going to start killing anyone that gets in between it and what it wants.”

“What does it want? It always talked about chaos and destruction, but it made it seem like that was just a fun part of the game. A side effect of getting what it wants.”

“I don’t know. What would a thousands of years old trickster want?”

I looked thoughtfully down at where my hands were resting in my lap. “Nothing material. My mother said it’s from the void. It has no use for material possessions.”

“Power?”

“Its been getting power from the chaos and destruction its been causing. If all it wanted was power, it could easily move from one place to the next collecting power from the damage it causes. It has to be something else.”

“Maybe we’re looking at this all wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re assuming that the Nogitsune is all about chaos, destruction, power. We’ve failed to consider the fact that it might want something we typically think as being something humans crave.”

“What would that be?”

“Revenge. It was all powerful, then it was shoved in a magical prison for years and lost its power. The Nogitsune stayed in Beacon Hills knowing that your mom would find out about the Nemeton waking back up. That she would immediately rush to make sure that the Nogitsune wasn’t freed and then stick around to catch it again if it was.”

“It didn’t bother to hide from her either. Well it did at first, but that was so it could get its strength back. After it got its strength, it didn’t care if my mother knew. He even walked right up to her in the hospital.”

“Which brings up what it did to you at the hospital.”

“Cutting the wires, but the Nogitsune had to have known what I was. Why would it do it if it knew what I was?”

“The Nogitsune must have known that your mom hadn’t told you what you were. It figured that when you found out that your mother was keeping that from you it would cause a rift. It wanted to hurt her by taking away her daughter’s trust.”

“That would make sense. What about what its done since then? Obviously I’ve been in danger, but we all have. What’s he been doing in between now and then to get revenge?”

Allison stared thoughtfully at the road for a few minute, then a look of realization hit her. “Your mother’s tails. He made sure she had to break all of her tails. She was even planning on breaking the last one before it took it.”

“What does the Nogitsune want with them? The Oni were told to eliminate the Nogitsune whatever means necessary. Why would it want more of them out there wanting to kill it?”

“Maybe it knows something we don’t. Something even your mother doesn’t know.”

“Wha-Allison look out!” My hands flew out to try to swerve the SUV out of the way of the thing lumbering towards us, but the things hit the car before I could.

* * *

 

Something warm and sticky was slowly sliding down the side of my face in the opposite way it should have been going. I lifted my hand up from where it was hanging above my head to wipe away whatever was sliding from my nose down my face. When I moved my hand down to my eye level, the bright red substance on it made me even more confused than I already was. The fuzziness in my head wasn’t helping to clear up the confusing situation around me.

I let my head swivel to the side so I could try to figure out what was going on through my surroundings. Allison was also hanging upside down with the only thing keeping her up being the seatbelt wrapped tightly around her chest and waist. She didn’t look to be bleeding anywhere, but if the huge bump on her head was anything to go by she wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon. I tried to shake Allison awake anyways and was met with the results I was expecting.

The sound of something growling right outside my window made me whip my head around to see whatever it was. Two bright red eyes were staring right at me with such ferocity that my heart felt like it was going to leap right out of my chest in fear. I reached my hand behind me to try to find where my katana had landed in the backseat during what had to be a crash. The only thing my hand found was a squishy body that groaned when I accidently bumped into it.

I was about to give up hope when something slammed into the thing outside my window and sent both of them rolling away. While the two snarled and snapped at each other, I managed to get my seatbelt undone so I was no longer hanging upside down. I quickly crawled partway into the backseat so I could search for my katana and let out a sound of triumph when I finally managed to get it out from under Jackson’s leg. With my katana in hand, I rolled out of the car and prepared to fight the thing that hand been outside my car window.

“Kira, are you alright?” Cora was crotched down next to me already shifted into her wolf form.

“Fine. What happened?”

“Deucalion. Scott and the twins are distracting him, but they won’t be able to keep it up for long. How are Allison and Jackson?”

“Allison got knocked unconscious and I don’t think Jackson has even woken up yet.”

“We need to get them out of here. Deucalion is prepared to rip that car apart to get to them.”

“We can’t all fit into Scott’s car.”

“Lydia’s house isn’t far from here. If you can carry Allison, I can get Jackson.”

“Won’t Deucalion follow us?”

Cora shook her head and ripped open the driver’s side door followed by the backdoor. “Scott and the twins can keep them distracted long enough to get there. Lydia keeps mountain ash in her bedroom. We’ll have to figure out a way to wake Allison up so she can use it.”

“How are we supposed to do that while we’re getting them to Lydia’s house?”

“We improvise. Bend down.”

I stuck my katana through my belt for safe keeping and dropped down onto one knee. After Cora nodded her head at me, I bent forward so Cora could maneuver Allison onto my back. Cora wrapped Allison’s arms around my neck and then did the same with Allison’s legs around my waist so I could use them to hold onto. I stood up shakily, but managed to keep Allison securely on my back without any problem.

In no time at all, Cora had Jackson thrown over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry and didn’t appear to be struggling at all under the weight. She motioned with her head to follow her and took off down the street at a moderately fast pace. She hung a left down a residential street, then took a quick right down a side alley. Cora ran across the street and ended up slowing down in front of a house two doors further down.

“How are we supposed to explain this to Lydia’s mom?”

“She’s not home.”

“So how are we getting in?”

“The good, old fashioned way.” Cora slipped through the back gate and looked quickly around the yard before finding what she was looking for. “Lydia hides a key in that planter.”

“I thought you meant breaking in!”

“I’ll leave the breaking in to people’s houses to my brother.”

* * *

 

“Any idea how to wake her up?”

Cora squinted at Allison like she was trying to determine the prognosis, then shrugged her shoulders. “No idea. I doubt Lydia keeps smelling salts in her room.”

“This is kind of a desperate situation.”

“I don’t see you coming up with any ideas.”

“I’ve never had to wake someone up that was unconscious before.”

“I’ve never had to wake someone up that wasn’t an unconscious werewolf before.”

“There has to be something.” I looked around Lydia’s room for inspiration and ended up staring at the bathroom door. “What about dumping cold water onto her?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re only supposed to do that to sleeping people, not unconscious.”

“Maybe we should try talking to her?”

“Or we can just let her wake herself up.”

A loud groan came from the bed followed by Allison muttering something in what sounded like French that I couldn’t understand. Allison struggled to sit up, then ran her hand through her hair to get it out of her face. She pressed her hand experimentally against the bump on her forehead and let out a hiss of pain at the pressure. Her eyes drifted over to where Cora and I were standing by Lydia’s closet door and twisted her face up in confusion.

“What are we doing at Lydia’s house? What happened after the crash? What even hit us?”

“Deucalion. He decided to make his move. He was trying to get to you and Kira, but Scott and the twins distracted them. We brought you and Jackson here to get you out of the way.”

“What now? I don’t think Lydia’s front door is going to be much of a deterrent for him.”

“Lydia has mountain ash. We need you to circle the house with it.”

“I’ve never used mountain ash before. What do I do?”

Cora grabbed a box off of Lydia’s dresser and held it out to Allison. “While we were with the Alpha Pack Ennis would pit us against each other. He would have Morrel make a mountain ash circle around us to keep us in. She’d just throw it up into the air and it would make a circle.”

“That’s it.”

“I’m sure there’s something else to it, but we can figure it out as we go.”

“Deaton told Stiles using mountain ash took belief.”

“Great. Let’s go outside and you can believe us a circle of mountain ash before Deucalion comes to rip us apart.

Allison nodded her head and slowly pushed herself off of Lydia’s bed only to almost face plant in the process. I quickly moved forward and let Allison lean against me so she didn’t go tumbling to the floor and end up knocking herself out again. Allison stayed leaning against me the entire trip down the stairs and through the front door out onto the porch. Cora held out the box of mountain ash so Allison could dip her hand in and pull out a large handful of mountain ash.

“Here goes nothing.”

Allison closed her eyes tightly then threw the mountain ash up in the air swiftly. The mountain ash hung in the air for a second then went speeding through the air. Once the mountain ash had settled, I could see a dark grey line that arched around the front of the house and disappeared around the side. Cora jumped down the porch and walked around the corner of the house. A minute later Cora popped back up on the other side of the house.

“It goes all the way around and it feels pretty strong. It should be able to keep Deucalion out.”

“I thought supernatural creature can’t cross mountain ash.”

“There have been instances when a powerful supernatural creature broke through mountain ash, but it’s rare.”

“That’s reassuring. I guess. What do we do now?”

Allison and Cora both looked at me at the same time when neither of them seemed to have any idea what to do. “Shouldn’t we call Scott? See if they got away from Deucalion.”

“I’ll call Scott. You two can go check on Jackson. He should be awake by now.”

* * *

 

“Hey, Jackass.” Cora smacked Jackson across the face, then went back to poking him when that didn’t work. “Jackass. I didn’t hit you that hard. It’s time to get up now. No amount of beauty sleep is going to help you.”

“Maybe you should be a little kinder.”

“You need to learn that tough love is an effective tool.”

“I think the police would call this abuse.”

Cora rolled her eyes and moved from her spot sitting on the coffee table by Jackson’s head. “You try to wake him up then. He’s clearly being his typically too stubborn self.”

“Alright…” I took Cora’s previous place on the coffee table and looked thoughtfully at the passed out werewolf on the couch. “I thought you said you had experience waking up unconscious werewolves.”

“I’ve woken up unconscious werewolves that weren’t ridiculously stubborn and obnoxious.”

“Maybe he just really needs a rest. Things have been really stressful lately. This could be his body trying to heal itself from the damage done by that stress.”

“That’s a lovely thought, but doesn’t really help us out.”

“Ugh, of course I would wake up to your annoying voice.”

“Look who’s finally graced us with his presence.” Cora crossed her arms in front of her chest and glanced out the front door. “Scott and the twins lost Deucalion. They were trying to get him into the preserve, but he knocked Aiden into a tree and headed back into town.”

“Since when is Deucalion the problem? I thought we were trying to get the Nogitsune out of Stiles.”

“Maybe if you weren’t still unconscious when everything was happening, you would know what’s going on.”

“Just tell me what’s happening, Cora.”

“You and the twins were temporarily possessed by the Nogitsune’s flies. We got the flies out of you and on the way back to Scott’s place to check on the others Deucalion attacked us. Kira and I dragged your and Allison’s unconscious bodies to Lydia’s house. Allison put up a mountain ash barrier.”

“So Deucalion is probably headed here.”

“That would be my guess. He’s probably trying to take out the ones he views as the weakest members of the pack first.”

“Are we seriously just going to sit behind the mountain ash and let him snarl at us?”

“Do you think you can handle taking on Deucalion?”

“That doesn’t mean I want to be like a rat stuck in a cage.”

“We’re not rats stuck in a cage. Deucalion isn’t going to be able to keep us here. What we are, are four people waiting for backup instead of doing something stupid that gets us killed.”

“Do we even know how long that will take? What backup are we even expecting?”

Cora let out a loud sigh that made it clear she thought Jackson was being a complete idiot. “Stiles called Scott after we got you idiots free of the Nogitsune’s flies. Derek can come help us.”

“Did somebody call him?”

“I called Scott. He-”

“What is Scott going to be able to do that we can’t?”

“If you would have let me finish, you would have heard I was going to say that Scott is going to go tell Derek what happened.”

“Why wouldn’t Scott just call him?” Jackson pushed himself off of the couch with an annoyed huff and started to stump around the room. “Allison obviously has a perfectly good phone that has Derek’s number in it. Call him.”

“Scott wasn’t far from Derek’s loft and when Stiles called Scott he told him there was something they had to tell us that would be best to say in person. They can tell him whatever it is while we’re safe in the mountain ash circle.”

“What about your dad? Can’t he come help?”

“All my dad’s stuff is in the back of the SUV or in the apartment. Deucalion wrecked the SUV and the apartment is on the other side of town. It would take my dad a whole lot longer to get here than it would take Derek.”

“Why couldn’t he just use the weapons in the back of the SUV?”

“Safety reasons. There’s no telling what the crash could have done to them. He would have to check over all the weapons to make sure there wasn’t anything wrong with them before he could use them. That takes time.”

“Why don’t we make some Molotov cocktails? That worked on Peter.”

“There are several reasons that is a terrible idea. One of them being we’re in the middle of a residential area. You could accidentally set someone else’s house on fire. The next being that I highly doubt Lydia keeps the ingredients for a Molotov cocktail lying around the house. Finally, do you remember how to make one because I certainly don’t?”

“I… kind of remember.”

Allison rolled her eyes and pushed Jackson into a chair to stop him from pacing around the room. “When it comes to chemical reactions, kind of sure isn’t really enough. You’d most likely end up blowing your own hand off and ruin Lydia’s kitchen, then she’d end up killing you.”

“There must be something we can do other than sitting around and having a freaking tea party.”

“Tea does sound like a good idea. I’ll go make some.”

“I’m being serious.”

“We’re helping by not putting ourselves in danger so the others have to end up saving us.” I placed a comforting hand on Jackson’s arm. “Getting ourselves injured won’t help the situation any. You remember what Deucalion looked like when he shifted the other night. He’s a lot stronger than any of us are. We need all the help we can get on this.”

“I’m sick of sitting around waiting for everyone else to fix all the crap that’s going on right now. Derek and Lydia risked their lives to save Stiles, while we sat around doing nothing. Now we’re sitting around in a circle of mountain ash doing nothing, again, while we wait for everyone else to come save us.”

“You’re not useless you know. It might seem like it right now, but you’re not. You can’t always be the one that saves the day. Sometimes you have to sit back and wait. Even if it sucks.”

The sound of something heavy slamming against something hard reverberated through the house and drew my attention away from Jackson. After a few second, the same thing happened this time followed by a loud, piercing howl. There were followed by several more slams, then everything got suspiciously quiet for a couple of long minutes. The quiet was broken by the sound of a persistent low growl that seemed to be a warning to us of something.

“Deucalion. It’s Deucalion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	26. Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles breaks free of the Nogitsune's hold.

_The Nogitsune was moving his next piece when a strange noise reached my ears. The sound was like a strange nagging in the back of my head so I didn't bother to see if the sound was actually real_ _. The_ _nagging only got louder and louder until my head was throbbing so fiercely I couldn't focus on the Go board in front of me. With my hand still hovering uncertainly over the board, I turned to look in the direction the sound seemed to be coming from._

_Two familiar looking people were standing in the normally empty room staring at me with hopeful expressions on their faces. Lydia’s mouth was moving frantically, but I couldn't hear anything that was coming out of it. When I looked at Derek, all I could focus in on were the two bright red irises boring into my own, begging me for something._

_I took a deep breath and turned back to the Nogitsune with a renewed determination to force him out of my head. The Nogitsune bared its teeth at me with a loud hiss that made the skin on my arms tingle and made little goosebumps appear. I looked down at the Go board the Nogitsune had made me sit in front of since the horrible night at Eichen House. Without thinking, I swept both my arms across the board sending all the pieces flying off and to the ground below._

_The Nogitsune let out an angry, rage-filled roar, then leapt across the board with its hands headed right towards my neck. On instinct, I threw my hands up in front of my neck and managed to deflect the Nogitsune’s hands away from me. The force of the action sent me tumbling over the edge of the Nemeton and onto the hard ground below. My elbow took the brunt of the hit causing a shock of pain to run up the length of my arm._

_As the pain in my arm disappeared, everything around me started to trickle away like water falling down a waterfall. The stark white around me faded into a pitch black that had me blinking constantly so I could try to see something in the darkness. I tried to let out a call for help, but my throat closed up so it was impossible for me to make even the smallest of sounds. Part of me thought I was just going to keep falling forever until the sound of someone calling my name filtered through the dark._

_All of a sudden the air felt like it had decided to take a vacation leaving my lung screaming for oxygen. My hands clawed desperately at my throat even though I knew it wouldn't do any good in the grand scheme of things. There was nobody and nothing that could help me in this empty void that I had fallen into. In a desperate attempt to do something, I reached my hands out into the nothingness and started to claw at it._

_I was shocked to find that my hands didn't just close around nothing. Instead, I felt something suspiciously like cloth gauze clutched between my trembling fingertips. My grip on the gauze tightened and I started to pull on it to see if it was just my imagination playing a trick on me. The gauze pulled tight, but didn't fall away like I had been expect it to. I let one hand slide up the gauze, then drug my body further up the invisible gauze. One hand followed the other until I was no longer moving into more darkness, but a bright light that burned my eyes._

* * *

 

A burst of air hit my arms so unexpectedly that my arms flailed uselessly around until one of my hands smacked into something hard. Whatever it was, was slick under my clothed fingertips and difficult to get a good hold of. I spread my arms out so they were pressed firmly on either side of my body and pushed my hands into the hard surface. My body slowly lifted out of whatever hole I had been in, but the darkness didn’t go away and my breathing didn’t get any easier.

As soon as I pulled my body all the way out, my hands started to claw at whatever was wrapped tightly around my face. The fabric slowly loosened so I was able to start quickly unwinding the cloth wrapped around my head. My eyes blinked uselessly against the blinding light like they hadn’t been exposed to light for months and didn’t know what to do with it now. I sucked in air through my nose right away, then yanked the rest of the wrap off the bottom of my face so I could pull air in through my mouth instead.

With my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I could see that I was sitting on the floor in the middle of Derek’s loft. Everyone was looking right at me with shocked expression on their faces and big, wide eyes. I focused in on all the people around me: Parrish, my father, Ms. McCall, Derek. My face wrinkled up in confusion when I didn’t see Lydia anywhere and noticed the door to the loft was wide open. She’d have to have been here right? She’d been with Derek in my head and he was here.

“Derek? What happened? Where’s Lydia?”

Derek turned around abruptly to look at the couch and let out a frustrated growl before hightailing it out the open door. Parrish quickly followed after him with his gun drawn and held tightly in his hands like he expected someone to try to knock it out of his hands. My eyes snapped to my dad and Melissa looking for some answers to this confusing situation. Melissa sped over to me and dropped down on her knees right in front of me.

“Stiles? Honey, how do you feel? Does anything hurt?”

“Am I me? I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“You’re fine, Stiles. You’re here with us.”

“Where’s Lydia? She was here, right? What happened?”

Ms. McCall ran a comforting hand through my hair, then finished removing the gauze from around my neck and hands. “If I had to guess, the Nogitsune probably took her while we were busy thinking you were the Nogitsune.”

“What?”

“Stiles, calm down. I need to check you over before you go running off looking for her like I know you want to. We don’t know what the Nogitsune’s possession could have done to your body.”

“I need to help them.”

“You need to sit patiently while I check you over. It’s my job. Remember?”

“Of course I remember.”

Melissa smiled kindly at me, then took the bag my dad handed to her with a look on her face that would have had me doing a double take if I had been looking away. My eyes zeroed in on the fact their hands had brushed when the bag was handed over and they were still lingering on each other. I could practically see the little hearts in both their eyes while they looked at each other.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I get possessed by a ridiculously old trickster spirit and that’s when you decide it’s time for the two of you to get together! You couldn’t have done it sooner?”

“Why don’t we focus on something more important?”

“You won’t let me go chasing after Lydia because you need to check me over. I won’t know if I need to come up with a plan to find her until Derek and Parrish get back, so to distract myself from the fact Lydia could be in danger I’m going to bug you about your relationship.”

“Why don’t you let us fill you in on what’s been going on?”

“How about you don’t change the subject? So, how did it happen? Spare all the details that might be mentally and emotionally scarring for me.”

* * *

 

After a thorough check up and conversation, Melissa determined that she couldn’t find anything physically wrong with me. My dad had immediately let out a sigh of relief and pulled me into a tight hug knowing he wouldn’t hurt me. We had just been pulling away from our embrace when Derek and Parrish came trudging through the door with no sign of Lydia following behind them. Frustration rolled through me knowing that Lydia got taken by the Nogitsune because of me.

“They’re gone and they took my car. Parrish already reported the car as stolen and Lydia missing.” Derek let out a heavy sigh, then looked at me uncertainly. “How’s your… you?”

“Uh, fine? I think is the correct answer, but I’m not entirely sure. Should we call the others? Where are they exactly? I’m assuming you sent them away because I-the Nogitsune could have hurt them.”

“They’re supposed to be at Scott’s.”

I snatched the phone out of my dad’s pocket and dialled the number before anyone else could say anything. “I’ll call him.”

“I see that.”

“He better answer his phone for once.”

“Don’t give Scott the details. Just tell him they all need to get here as soon as possible.”

“Got it. Scott!”

“Stiles?” Scott’s voice sounded breathless and relieved. “Is that really you?”

“Yeah. Yes, it’s me. Where are you and the others?”

“At the school.”

“At the school? What the hell are you doing at the school? Derek said you were supposed to be at your house.”

“Something happened.”

“A good something or a bad something? I should go ahead and assume it’s a bad something, right? You know what? Don’t tell me. You need to come to the loft. All of you. Something happened here, too.”

“We’ll be there in twenty-five minutes.”

I cleared my throat awkwardly and turned around so I wouldn’t have to look at the rest of the people in the room. “You alright? You’re not… Mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“I just wanted to make sure-”

“We’re still best friends we’ll always be best friends.”

“Until we become brothers.”

“Right.”

* * *

 

I paced around the loft trying not to burst with all the questions I had bubbling up in my head that I wanted to wait to ask until everyone showed up. I was also trying not to check my dad’s phone for the millionth time to see how long it had been since I ended the call with Scott. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t last more than a few seconds without checking the time. Thirty-two minutes. Thirty-two freaking minutes since Scott ended the call. They should be here by now.

“They should be here by now.”

“Maybe they’re hitting all the lights.”

I turned to look at Parrish with a face I hope said “you poor, innocent, naïve thing.” “When someone doesn’t get there at the time they say they’re going to get there and they don’t text you, it means something terrible happened. Welcome to the supernatural world.”

“That’s a bit pessimistic.”

“Really? Controlled by an evil trickster spirit. Doesn’t exactly make a person prone to optimism.”

“They’re coming up the stairs now. They smell like blood.”

“What did I tell you? Terrible things happen.”

Scott stumbled through the door with the twins leaning slightly against each other as they walked in behind them. Before I could even blink, Scott was across the room throwing his arms around me in a ferocious hug. His arms tightened around me and he started to lean back making my feet lift off the ground so even with pointed toes they barely scrapped the floor. I clapped Scott’s back in a friendly gesture at first, then started hitting him hard when he didn’t let me down.

“Scotty, can’t breathe.”

“Sorry.” Scott put me down hesitantly and held me at arm’s length so he could obviously check me over, then lifted up my shirt. “You’re all healed!”

“Everything, but my dignity apparently. What took you so long?”

“We ran into a problem.”

“And that problem would be…”

“Deucalion.” Scott shifted his focus from me to Derek and back again. “We were on our way here when he came out of nowhere and hit Mr. Argent’s SUV. It ended up flipping over and he tried to get in to get Kira. The twins and I distracted him long enough for them to get to Lydia’s house, but he got the drop on us.”

“That wasn’t what you wanted to talk about on the phone though, right?”

“No. The Nogitsune used little flies to control Isaac, Jackson, and the twins. The twins ended up knocking out Erica and Mr. Argent to get out of my house and Jackson hurt Boyd to get out. Cora and I stopped Isaac and called Deaton over. He was the one who figured out about the flies. Allison and Kira went to distract the ones who got out while Deaton did that and they ended up corralling them at the school. Cora and I went to help and Danny stayed behind with the others to try and help them.”

“Did you tell Danny about Deucalion?”

“Yes. Cora sent him a text to let him know before she helped out Jackson, Kira, and Allison. He knows where the mountain ash is and how to put it up.”

I looked over at Derek who was standing with his arms crossed firmly over his chest. “Do you have any idea where Deucalion is now? What direction he was heading in?”

“We think he was going back to Lydia’s house.”

“Lydia has mountain ash and if Allison is with them she can use it to protect them.”

“I told Cora about it.”

“We should go over there. Deucalion isn’t going to give up easily. He’ll wait them out if he has to.”

Derek nodded his head in agreement and was starting to head out the door when Scott’s phone began ringing obnoxiously. I rolled my eyes at the cheesy teen love song that meant Allison was the one calling him and motioned for Scott to hurry up and answer it. My eyes met Derek’s as I waited patiently for Scott to finish up the call. A nervous feeling settled over my stomach and I quickly looked away from him to avoid the feeling growing stronger.

A firm, but gentle hand rested on my shoulder and squeezed slightly when I didn’t look up at the owner of the hand. Hazel eyes were staring at me so intensely I wanted to look away, but the hand on the shoulder moved to still my chin. Tears started to fill my eyes faster than I could blink them away until they were cascading down my face. Derek pulled me into a tight hug and pressed a reassuring kiss to my forehead before burying his face in my hair.

“Deucalion is at Lydia’s. They need our help.”

“Alright.” I pulled back from Derek and wiped my eyes to clear off the remaining tears. “Let’s get going.”

“Wait, what was it you guys had to talk to us about?”

“We’ll tell you all at the same time. We need to focus on helping the others right now.”

* * *

 

A monstrous looking creature was stalking around outside Lydia’s house in a perfect circle that it couldn’t seem to cross. Its red eyes immediately looked up at the three cars pulling up to Lydia’s house. Derek was out of car in a flash already wolfed out and ready to attack Deucalion even though the man was gigantic compared to him. From here I could see the calculating look in Deucalion’s eyes as he took in the situation.

It didn’t surprise me one bit that Deucalion ended up turning around and disappearing around the street corner before Derek could reach him. Derek let out a frustrated growl and shifted back into his human form. I slipped out of the car and headed straight for the mountain ash circle that I broke easily with a wave of my hand over the line. A flash of car lights turned my attention to the new car pulling up into Lydia’s driveway.

“Looks like the gangs all here.”

Jackson came stomping out of the house with his usual bitchy expression. “Why the hell did he just run away? He spent all that time stalking around the house.”

“Strategic retreat. He wasn’t going to be able to take all of us. Even if he looks like something out of a Grimm fairy tale.”

“What did he expect to happen?”

“His wolf is borderline feral. It understood that you were trapped inside and it could wait you out. It didn’t think that you’d be able to call for help with a cell phone. Then when we all showed up, it knew it wouldn’t be able to take us all at once.”

“Fantastic. That was a complete waste of a day. Is the Nogitsune dead at least? That is the actual annoying Stiles, right?”

“No, it’s not. That’s what we needed to talk to all of you about. The Nogitsune split from Stiles and it took Lydia.”

“It what?” Jackson looked seconds away from blowing a gasket right in the middle of Lydia’s lawn where the whole street would be able to see and hear. “How the hell did it manage to take Lydia?”

“We were kind of distracted by the fact a body was crawling out of the floor. We thought that was the Nogitsune.”

“So, Stiles crawled out of the floor. Didn’t the fact he looked like Stiles give it away!”

“He was wrapped up at the time. We couldn’t see his face.”

Everyone started to talk loudly over each other making my ears ring and head pound painfully. “Shut up. I said, shut up! You all are being ridiculous. Fighting amongst yourselves? How is that helping the situation any? Lydia is with the Nogitsune. She needs our help. Sooner rather than later.”

“Why would it take Lydia?”

“She’s a banshee. She senses death. What’s the best way to keep from dying? Have a banshee there to tell you when death is close.”

“So she’s probably not in any danger.”

“I wouldn’t think so.”

“We still need to find her, but we have no idea where he would take her.”

“Actually that’s not entirely true. I have a few ideas. Some better than others.” I shifted nervously under the heavy scrutiny I was getting from the pack. “I have a question though since I’ve been out of the loop. How are we supposed to stop the Nogitsune? You must have had some sort of plan.”

“You.”

“Me? What am I supposed to do? Did you forget that the Nogitsune had me trapped in my own head for weeks? I can’t do anything.”

“Lydia figured out a way.”

“Of course she did. What way would that be? I thought the only way to do it was to change the body.”

“And that’s what you’re going to do.”

“Last time I checked, I’m not an alpha werewolf. I can’t change someone’s body.”

“Yes. You can.”

“No. I can’t. You all are being ridiculous right now. There’s no way I could do it.”

Derek tugged on my sleeve until I was looking him directly in the eye. “You can and you will. Deaton told you, you have a spark, remember? It’s a lot more powerful than you think. If you tap into that part of you, then your body will change enough to get rid of the Nogitsune.”

“But the Nogitsune isn’t even in me anymore. How would that work?”

“It’s still using your body. A copy of it.”

“This is certainly going to be fun.” I looked up at the sky helplessly for some kind of answer and let out a huff of disappointment when none came. “How exactly do I trigger my spark or whatever?”

“Lydia said there are multiple ways, but she thinks you’ll be able to trigger it when you want to.”

“Oh, that’s helpful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	27. Lydia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia's time with the Nogitsune.

I kept my gaze focused out the passenger’s side window so I wouldn’t have to look at the terrible thing wearing one of my best friends’ face. It was taping its finger rhythmically against the steering wheel and humming along to the radio like it was taking a trip to the mall or a friend’s house. My hands clenched against the bottom of my skirt to keep me from trying to do something crazy like open the door and roll out of a moving vehicle. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the Nogitsune moving one of its hands from the steering wheel to the gear shift.

The Nogitsune turned the car into an open parking lot and put it into park right in the middle of it so anyone passing by would see it. It smiled at me in a completely terrifying way, then got out of the car with an inhuman grace. While the Nogitsune was busy checking its surroundings for something, I took the opportunity to write a note in the fog I made on the window. The last of the fog was just clearing up, when my door swung open and the Nogitsune motioned for me to get out of the car.

“I’d offer to help, but I don’t think you’d accept.”

“I don’t want any help from you. Ever.”

“That’s very short sighted of you, Lydia. I would have thought that you, of all people, would be more open minded.”

“I don’t have a very open mind to those who kill people and use the body of someone I know to do it.”

“You make it all so simplified.”

“Isn’t that all your doing. Causing chaos and destruction like you wanted.”

The Nogitsune laughed cruelly causing a shiver to run down my spine. “You humans, always so focused in on the little things. Never able to see the entire picture. Such a quaint way of living your pathetic, little lives.”

“Death isn’t a little thing. Taking over someone’s life isn’t a little thing. You just don’t know how to appreciate life. You’re a cruel thing that doesn’t have a point. You act like you’re working towards something, but in reality you have nothing and you never will. You’re from the void. Emptiness.”

“You should watch your tone around me, little girl.”

“You’re not going to kill me.”

“No, but you forget. I know all about you. About the people you love. Your mom may be out of town, but I can still get to her. There’s also Allison. So pathetically human. Jackson is so hot headed. Easy to anger so he makes mistakes. Let’s not forget Stiles. You all probably think he’s safe now, other than the obvious danger all of you are in.”

“What are you talking about? We saved him. You’re lying.”

“Have you ever heard of doppelgängers? I’m sure you have, but let me give you a little lesson anyways. Most cultures have some sort of variation of the myth. People nowadays think it’s some sort of cool phenomenon. In actuality, it’s a very dark and dangerous thing. You see people were right about the whole “evil twin” thing. Most doppelgängers occur because of a possession that ended up splitting the person into themself and the possessor. What people don’t realize is there’s only supposed to be one. Things get messy when they split.”

“What happens?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The Nogitsune took a step closer to me and I took one back in response. “To create a new body the energy has to flow from the original to the copy. That flow doesn’t stop until all the energy has run out. Stiles is slowly dying. Fading away into me.”

“You’re lying.”

“Would I lie to you?”

“I’m supposed to believe you’re telling me the truth.”

“What reason would I have for lying to you? There’s nothing you can do to stop it and even if there was you couldn’t. You’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future. Now, it’s time to get going.”

* * *

 

Of all the places I expected the Nogitsune to take me, an old, abandoned building with a series of underground tunnels was not it. Eichen House would have probably been my first guess considering the Nogitsune obviously had a connection in the basement there. The Nemeton would have been next since it’s a powerful source of magic, but no. This place in the middle of nowhere was the Nogitsune’s prime choice of hideout.

The Nogitsune walked along the tunnels with a seasoned familiarity that screamed of having been here many times before. It ran its hands along the walls almost reverently as it walked along the twisting tunnels. I followed behind the Nogitsune at a much slower pace looking for a tunnel that would lead to an exit rather than further in. Occasionally, the Nogitsune would turn to look at me and smirk like it knew exactly what I was thinking.

The sound of my heels clicking against the cement floors was starting to drive me insane since it echoed endlessly off of the walls. From the way the Nogitsune’s shoulders were relaxed, I could tell he wasn’t nearly as bothered by the lack of other noise as I was. In fact, it was almost like the Nogitsune was trying to use the annoying noise as a technique to get me talking. I kept my lips tightly pursed so I wouldn’t be tempted to start talking.

“You think I’m trying to get you to spill all of your little pack’s secrets. I don’t need you to tell me anything. I still have all his memories. I don’t need you to tell me anything.”

“Just because you have his memories, doesn’t mean you know everything.”

“Oh, yes. You’ve come up with some ridiculous plan to try to kill me, but I can’t be killed. You’re all wasting your time.”

“You’re scared. Why would you take me if you weren’t? What other reason would you have for needing someone who could sense death?”

“I’m not one of those evil villains from the movies. I’m not going to tell you my entire plan in a longwinded rant while you come up with a way to escape.”

“Is that supposed to make me believe you’re not scared?”

The Nogitsune chuckled darkly and took a step closer to me. “I have no need for fear. I’m much cleverer and much more powerful than any of your friends and now I have you.”

“What do you need me for if you’re so powerful?”

“I may be powerful, but that doesn’t mean I have a connection to death the way you do. Don’t you remember what I told you at the beginning of all this? I want you to scream. I need you to scream.”

“Why? How could my scream help you?”

“That isn’t of any concern to you. When the time comes, you’ll do what I want. That’s all that matters.”

“And if I don’t?”

“You’re so young. So inexperienced.” The Nogitsune twisted a piece of my hair onto its finger then tucked it behind my ear. “You don’t know how to control your powers yet. They come bursting out of you whether you want them to or not.”

“How would you know?”

“There’s no one to teach you, no way to learn. It takes time and experience. Both things you don’t have. So when I need you to scream for me, I know you will.”

“Whatever it is you want. You’re not going to get it.”

“Acting like a big, strong girl. I know you’re terrified. I can see it. You’ve got a feeling don’t you? Not a regular feeling like other teenaged girls feel. It’s this place.”

“What happened here?”

“Do you really want to know?”

I nodded my head slowly, suddenly not feeling so sure about my answer. “Tell me what happened.”

“I’m assuming Noshiko told you the story about why she called me. This is where all that happened. People can cover it up all they want, but when there’s that much death in one place there’s always a mark left behind. You can feel that mark. The pain, suffering, death. It calls to you.”

“Is that why you brought me here?”

“There are many reasons I brought you here. Not all of them have to do with you, but the immense amount of death? That’s all for you. The more in tune with death you are right now, the better.”

“They won’t come for me.”

“And why is that?”

“I told them not to.”

The Nogitsune pinned me against the wall and smiled cruelly down at me. “All of your friends are self-sacrificing. They’ll come to get you. I have absolutely no doubt about that.”

* * *

 

The sun was setting slowly, turning the entire sky a deep blood red. The Nogitsune had taken us to a dark corner of the compound and taken a seat on a set of stairs while I stood staring out a locked gated entrance. For the first time in hours the Nogitsune moved until it was standing right behind me with its hand gripping my upper arm. Instead of trying to fight him, I let the Nogitsune lead me back into the depths of the compound.

His grip tightened on my arm making me flinch in pain and look around for the reason the Nogitsune had felt the need to make sure I stayed with him. Nothing caught my eyes before the Nogitsune threw me into a small circular room with an open ceiling. It closed the iron gate behind us and turned to look at me with a triumphant look on its face.

“They’re here.”

“Who’s here?”

“Everyone. That makes things even easier than I was expecting.” The Nogitsune pulled Noshiko’s tail out of its back pocket and held it between both of its hands. “Any minute now.”

“What are you going to do with that?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

A pressure started to build up in my throat just like it had every other time I had one of my banshee moments. My mouth started to open involuntarily and I dropped to my knees when the pressure became too much to handle. Through the tears in my eyes I could see all the Oni had appeared in a circle around the Nogitsune and I. It all became clear why the Nogitsune had wanted me when the Oni went to move, but stopped after the Nogitsune broke Noshiko’s last tail in half.

The Nogitsune gave me a terrifying smile, then disappeared into thin air with the Oni disappearing right after him. I slowly staggered to my feet and headed over to the closed gate only to pull on it and find it locked. A sob came out of my throat as I pulled on the gate harder even though I knew I didn’t have the strength to yank it off its hinges like a werewolf would. Two golden eyes appeared out of the dark getting closer and closer until I recognized the owner as Scott McCall

“Scott! Get me out of here. We have to warn the others.”

“Warn them about what? Why did the Nogitsune just leave you? He went through all that trouble to take you and then left you for us to find?”

“The Oni. The Nogitsune has control of the Oni. The only reason it wanted me was so I could warn it when they were coming for it.”

Scott quickly pulled off the gate door and set it against the wall. “I’ll go tell them. Stiles will help you get out. He’s right behind me.”

“Scott, there’s something else!”

I tried to raise my voice when Scott didn’t turn back around, but it didn’t do any good. He disappeared around a corner and didn’t bother to look back. The pressure in my throat hadn’t gone away and with every passing minute the pressure got closer and closer to finally bursting out. My eyes searched desperately for Stiles to see if he would be able to help, but as soon as I saw him I knew he wouldn’t be able to.

“Stiles, we need to get back to the others. Someone’s going to die. I need to stop it.”

“I don’t know if I can make it.” Stiles was leaning heavily against the wall looking like he had just run multiple marathons in a row without sleep. “I feel completely drained.”

“The Nogitsune said this would happened. We need to stop him.”

“Lyds, either slow down or go ahead without me.”

“We need to hurry. Someone’s in danger.”

“I can’t make it. I can’t do it.”

“Come on. A little further.”

Stiles stumbled a little, then hit the wall and went sliding down it with his eyes closed. “Stiles, wake up. Wake up. Please get up.”

I grabbed Stiles’s face between my hands and tilted his head side to side looking for a bump in case he hit his head on the way down. When I didn’t find any, I carefully shook his shoulders to try to get him to wake back up. No amount of shaking seemed to be getting him any closer to waking back up. A tear slid down my cheek as the helplessness of the situation hit me.

“Stiles, I can’t do this without you. I need you. Please!” The need to scream was becoming too much to hold in, so I knew I had no other choice. “Jackson!”

* * *

 

By the time Derek and Erica found us, I had my arms wrapped around Stiles’s with his head pillowed on my shoulder. The few tears I had let fall had left tracks that had long since dried up leaving my face feeling tighter than normal. When Derek and Erica got close enough for me to see their faces, I inspected every inch of them for signs of something having gone horribly wrong. Neither of them looked upset, but there was a wariness about them that had me instantly on edge.

“Jackson? Is he alive?”

Derek knelt down so he was eye level with me and made no move to take Stiles away from me. “Allison managed to take out one of the Oni. Another one was going to run her through with their katana, but Jackson pushed her out of the way. He got stabbed through the shoulder. Sheriff Stilinski is taking him to Deaton’s.”

“Why would he need to go to Deaton’s? Shouldn’t he heal? You did after the Nogitsune ran you through with one of the Oni’s katana.”

“Noshiko said that the Nogitsune taking over the Oni changed them. Their katanas are poisonous now. Deaton should have something to cure it.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“We’ll figure something out. Do you need help?”

“You’ll need to carry him. He’s unconscious.”

“What happened to him?” Derek easily lifted Stiles into a bridal carry and started heading back the way he came once I stood up. “Melissa checked him over and said there wasn’t anything wrong with him, but he keeps getting paler and the bags under his eyes are getting worse.”

“It’s the Nogitsune. He’s draining the life from Stiles. It won’t stop until he’s gone.”

“So, what? They’re still connected?”

“Something like that. The Nogitsune explained it to me. The gist of it was that they can’t both be alive at the same time. One of them has to go.”

Erica poked her head in between Derek and I’s so she could butt into our conversation. “Like Harry and Voldemort?”

“I guess. I was too busy focusing on the fact that Stiles is slowly dying.”

“We need to figure a way to get the Nogitsune. Tonight.”

“That can wait until we get to Deaton’s. The others should already be there. We can come up with a plan to get rid of the Nogitsune there.”

* * *

 

“Jackson!” I busted into the back of Deaton’s clinic with the only thing on my mind being my desire to see Jackson. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”

“Fine. Deaton already cured the poison and I’m healing. What’s the plan?”

“You’re staying here.”

“What? We can use everyone we’ve got and Stiles looks like he’ll get knocked over by a small breeze. If he’s going, I’m going.”

“No, you aren’t. You’re still healing and we have plenty of other people. Sit this one out.”

“I’m sick of sitting out on the fights. I can handle it.”

Before I could say another word, Derek intervened. “What did Deaton say?”

“He said I should be healing at normal werewolf speed now. The wound isn’t even that big anymore. I can help.”

“Then you’ll come with us. We know the Oni are more powerful now so we can use everyone we can get. Allison, what was it you used that killed the Oni?”

“I was using a silver arrowhead. I don’t normally use silver arrowheads, but I made a bunch because of a family thing. I could go pick them up from the apartment and bring them to wherever we’re going. Where is that, exactly?”

“The high school.” Everyone looked at Stiles sceptically. “Trust me. It always planned on having it end there. That’s where Kira and Mr. Yukimura spend most of their time and it’s where Mrs. Yukimura was keeping her tail. Plus, the school was built over the land where Mrs. Yukimura defeated him the first time. He said it was symmetry or something.”

“I thought she defeated it at the spot where the Nemeton is.”

“No, she just trapped it in the Nemeton.”

“How are we supposed to trap it in the Nemeton?”

Deaton set a cylindrical box down on the table that had a triskelion carved into the top of it. “With this.”

“Two question: how is the Nogitsune supposed to fit in that and how is that supposed to keep a powerful evil spirit contained?”

“Once the Nogitsune’s current body is changed, he will have to revert to a different form before he can move to a new host. You’ve already seen the form he chooses to take.”

“A fly.”

“Yes. You’ll need to catch that fly in this.”

“That doesn’t explain how that box is going to contain all that power.”

“It’s made out of mountain ash. The Nogitsune will not be able to leave as long as the lid is kept firmly shut.”

“So after we’ve caught the Nogitsune in this we just shove it back into the Nemeton? Isn’t that a little risky? Someone could find it and open it.”

“Stiles will be able to make sure that’s not possible.”

Stiles made a choking noise and probably would have been flailing around if he had the energy. “How will I be able to keep some idiot from opening it?”

“You have a connection with the Nemeton. You can use that connection to place the Nogitsune in the heart of the Nemeton where no one will be able to reach it.”

“What if someone else gets connected to the Nemeton? Will they be able to get to the Nogitsune if I shove it in there?”

“No. There can only be one person connected to a Nemeton. Others can make sacrifices to the Nemeton that give it power, but they cannot become connected to it.”

“But I thought whole groups of druids used to draw from a single Nemeton to get power.”

“They did.”

“Then how can only one person be connected to it at a time?”

“One druid would act as a conduit for the others and when that druid would pass on, the next would take their place. Your mother was connected to the Nemeton before you, when she died you took over her place.”

“I thought I connected to the Nemeton when I bumped my head and bled on it.”

“You became a sacrifice for the Nemeton when you did that. Your spark didn’t latch onto the Nemeton until your mother died.”

“This magic stuff is so confusing.” Stiles ran a hand through his hair, then did a swept of the room with tired eyes. “I’m ready for this to be over. Everyone else as ready as I am?”

I moved across the room so I could grip Stiles’s hand in my own. “More than ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	28. Scott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack makes their final move on the Nogitsune.

“Everyone clear on the plan?” Stiles turned around in the front seat to face Allison, Isaac, and I. “Isaac, you’ve got the box right?”

“It’s right here and can I point out that it’s not really much of a plan?”

“No. We’ve got a general idea. That’s all that matters. We don’t need a complex plan. The Nogitsune would tear a hole in any well thought out plan we made, so improvisation. We need to be unpredictable. It expects us to play by the rule like we’ve done during its whole game. Now is the time to do something totally out of the box. It’s our one chance.”

“Coach’s speeches are better.”

“How are his better? He doesn’t even come up with them on his own! He uses ones out of movies like the Independence Day one he uses all the time.”

“Exactly. He uses ones that he already knows are good. There’s no chance of him epically failing.”

“I hate you.”

“Lie.”

“Damn you werewolf lie detectors!”

In the rear view mirror, I could see Derek rolling his eyes in exasperation. “We’re here.”

“And so are three of the Oni. Guess we’re going through them to get in. Shouldn’t be too hard. They only have sharp, poisonous swords.”

“Cora, Erica, Boyd, Kira, the twins, and I can easily hold them off, while the rest of you find the Nogitsune. We knew we would most likely have to split up.”

“Right. Divide and conquer. Classic battle strategy. That means the Nogitsune is going to have three Oni with him. Piece of cake.”

“Just remember.”

“Yes, I know. I’m the chosen one. With great power comes great responsibility. I’m Batman. Let’s get this over with. I demand all the cuddles and a century long nap when we’re done.”

“Deal.” Derek leaned over the center console to give Stiles a kiss that had all three of us in the backseat turning away so they could have a moment semi-alone. “Be safe.”

“You better take your own advice.”

“Let’s go.”

Everyone filed out of the cars and met up on the sidewalk making sure to keep a close eye on the Oni as they did so. All of the Oni stayed stock still at the other end of the archway with their katanas held at their sides innocently. I looked over at where Stiles was leaning on Lydia for support and met his eyes over the top of her head. There was a fire burning there that I hadn’t seen in what felt like years, but had probably only been the months the Nogitsune was possessing him.

“Allison, I think you should take this.” Kira was holding out her katana to Allison with a sincere smile on her face. “When we were fighting the twins and Isaac, you had a really go handle on it. This one is made out of silver. They usually make katanas out of steel, but my dad had this one specially made for my mother as a wedding present.”

“I can’t take this.”

“Yes, you can. It needs to be in there with the Nogitsune. My mom would want it that way. She wouldn’t care who’s using it. I can use your bow.”

“Are you sure? Using my crossbow is one thing, but a compound bow-”

“I got bored as a kid. Did a lot of weapons training. I can do this. Please, take it. I insist.”

Allison’s hand hover uncertainly over the blade in Kira’s hands for a second before she finally wrapped her fingers around it and held it tightly at her side. She held out her bow to Kira, then removed the quiver from across her back. Instead of handing it to Kira like she had with the bow, Allison lifted the quiver over Kira’s head and settled it across her body. The last thing Allison did was pull the gloves she normally wore when she used her bow off and handed them to Kira.

“Hopefully, they’re not too big.”

“They fit fine.”

Allison nodded her head at Kira’s remark then turned her attention to the sheathed blade clutched tightly in her right hand. Her hands trembled slightly as she brought the weapon up higher, but steadied once she began to pull the katana out of its sheath. The katana gleamed dangerously in the little light being given out by the parking lot lamp posts. Allison started to turn the blade over in one of her hands, then placed the sheath on the closest car hood so she could hold it with two.

“It’s beautiful.”

“My dad said he had it made because it reminded him of her. Beautiful on the surface, but dangerous when in use.”

“Thank you for letting me use this.”

“Like I said, my mom would have wanted it this way.”

* * *

 

Getting around the Oni in front of the school was a lot easier than I was expecting it to be. The Oni’s blows were easily avoided or deflected by the katana in Allison’s hand. Not a single person skirting around them to get to the entrance of the school had a cut on them. Of course when I said this out loud, Stiles gave me a dirty look that clearly said he was imagining my head exploding right now.

“Where do you think he is?” I stepped further into the hallway looking for any sign that the Nogitsune had been there or set up a trap.

“Mr. Yukimura’s classroom.”

“Right. Revenge and symmetry and all of that.”

“That’s a pretty good summary of the situation, Scotty.”

“Should we expect a trap going in.”

“That’s probably one of the stupidest questions you’ve ever asked, McCall.”

“Sorry for trying to make sure we’re prepared for any situation we might walk into.”

“The plan is to not have a plan. Remember.”

“That still doesn’t make any sense to me. Shouldn’t we have come up with a plan to outwit him?”

“You don’t out fox a fox.”

I came to a halt outside of Mr. Yukimura’s classroom and turned to Stiles with the most serious face I could muster. “You can do this. You know that right?”

“If I didn’t know that, we wouldn’t be here right now. I know this is something I have to do, so I’m going to do it. No matter what.”

“Guess this is it then. Ready?”

Everyone nodded in agreement while I busied myself by reaching out to take a hold of the door handle. I took a deep breath before pushing down on the handle and throwing the classroom door wide open. My breath caught in my throat at the strange sight in front of me.

Where Mr. Yukimura’s classroom should have been, was something almost out of a fairy tale. Pristine, white snow was covering every inch of the ground in a fluffy blanket that barely shifted under my feet as I walked forward. A flowing layered fountain topped off with a small orb was set off to the side like a typical garden decoration would. In the middle of the space, was a large white archway covered in green moss and a flower I didn’t recognize. The only things marring the picturesque scene were the three Oni standing evenly spaced out around the area and the lone figure under the archway.

The Nogitsune stood up gracefully, something so weird since I was used to seeing that body flail and trip around. It had a dark smirk on its face that made me want to cringe, but I knew better than to show the Nogitsune any weaknesses. The Nogitsune took a step down and held up its hands in a gesture that invited us to look around.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? When I first came out of the void, I found myself in Japan. At the time there were warring faction everywhere. So much death. It was wonderful, especially when it snowed. After all the dust had settled, the snow would be bright red. Drenched in blood. Beautiful.”

“We’re not interested in the history of your life.”

“Yes, you’re interested in seeing me removed from this plane once again. I doubt it surprises you that I’m not on board with that plan. My Oni are more than willing to make sure nothing happens to me.”

“There’s more of us than them. Not good odds.”

The Nogitsune looked at Jackson with a haughty expression on its face. “By one and they have the advantage here. You have claws and fangs. Useless against them.”

“There are six of us.”

“Two are unarmed. They would not last against the Oni.”

“We can still take them.”

“If you say so. Show me.”

The Nogitsune gave a lazy wave of its hand that had the Oni leaping towards us all at once. I rolled out of the way of the one heading for me and tried to drag a clawed hand across its knee. Unsurprisingly, my hand went straight through the Oni doing absolutely no damage whatsoever. I quickly turned back around to face the Oni who was already sweeping its katana back in my direction. My back barely managed to bend back enough to avoid the sharp blade.

“Stop. It’s not real. None of it’s real. It’s just an illusion. None of it’s real.”

Jackson snorted loudly at Stiles as he ducked out of the way of an Oni’s katana. “You expect us to believe that none of this is real?”

“It isn’t. It’s fake. There aren’t any Oni here and we’re in a classroom. It’s all an illusion.”

I could see the certainty in Stiles’s eyes so instead of moving out of the way of the next attack, I just stood there. The katana I was half expecting to slice me into two parts went straight through me like I wasn’t even there. All of a sudden the scene around me changed. There was no longer a peaceful Japanese garden covered in snow, now I was standing in Mr. Yukimura’s classroom like I was supposed to be.

The Nogitsune was running out of the classroom, but before it could get very far Jackson was throwing him straight into the lockers. I quickly moved to help try to pin it there only to get easily thrown off and into the lockers across the way. My vision whited out upon impact and I closed them reflexively to try to make the pain go away. For a second I thought the Nogitsune had managed to get away, but when my eyes opened again it was to see Stiles gripping the Nogitsune’s arm tightly.

“What are you going to do, Stiles? Talk me to death. You’re worthless. You’re not powerful like your friends. You don’t have any special skills. It’s because of you all of this happened in the first place. Their lives would be better if you weren’t in them. Your mother’s life would have been better if you weren’t in it.”

“I’m going to enjoy shoving you back into that freaking tree stump.”

“You’re too weak.”

“Not weak. I’m a lot of things, but weak isn’t one of them.”

Stiles’s grip on the Nogitsune tightened and when the Nogitsune tried to pull away nothing happened. The Nogitsune tried even harder to pull away, but it was like the two of them were now fused together where Stiles had grabbed it. I tried to move closer to them only to get stopped by what seemed like an invisible wall. When I looked to Lydia for help, I was upset to see that she looked just as confused as I was.

I was about to start doing anything I could to get through the invisible barrier when Stiles’s eyes started to glow a strange green with a blue color mixed in. His veins started to glow the same bright colors starting at the tiny ones around his eyes and moving down his body. The Nogitsune was clawing desperately at the hand Stiles had wrapped around his arm and was unable to remove it before the glow reached Stiles’s hand. The same glow started to travel up the Nogitsune’s arm, but rather than basking in it like Stiles was the Nogitsune started scream bloody murder.

The screaming was starting to reach an uncomfortable level for sensitive werewolf ears, when the Nogitsune started to choke on something. It fell to its knees with a painful thud and brought its hand up to its throat like it could keep whatever that was trying to get out from doing so. A small black fly flew out of the gapping mouth and headed straight for the door. Before it could get very far, Isaac trapped it in the mountain ash box making sure to screw the lid firmly shut after he did so.

The body the Nogitsune had been using shimmered strangely for a second, then appeared to dissolve into nothingness. I looked up at Stiles and was happy to see that Stiles no longer looked as pale as a ghost. The bags under his eyes were still prominent, but he no longer looked like he was going to fall over at any moment. I was about to move forward so I could pull Stiles into a hug only to get hug blocked by Lydia.

“You did it.”

“Yes, I did and now I’m really considering passing out or hibernation. Either one. I’m not picky.”

“After we put the Nogitsune back in the Nemeton.”

“You’re a slave driver.”

* * *

 

“Is everyone alright?” Stiles still needed Lydia’s help to walk so they had insisted Isaac and I go ahead of them to check on the others, while Jackson remained behind with them just in case Deucalion decided to show up. “Is anybody hurt?”

Derek motioned to where Ethan was kneeling on the ground with his brother clutched tightly to his chest. I didn’t need to be able to hear Ethan sobbing to know that he was crying, the way his whole body was shaking made it painfully obvious. Kira had a comforting hand resting on Ethan’s shoulder, but it was clearly not doing anything to relax the distraught boy. My heart tugged painfully in my chest at the sight in front of me, so I wrapped my arms around Allison to try to make the feeling go away.

“Danny is on his way with Melissa, the Sheriff, and Chris. We need to get to the Nemeton. Deaton is waiting there for us. Parrish is helping him set up a mountain ash ring around the Nemeton so nothing happens to Stiles while he’s putting the Nogitsune back in.”

“Are you sure we should be leaving? Ethan might need-”

“Ethan knows that this isn’t finished until the Nogitsune is returned to the Nemeton. We can be there for him after we finish. We can’t risk the Nogitsune getting out.”

“We’re not going to just leave him here by himself. What if Deucalion comes for revenge or something?”

“Of course we aren’t. You, me, Stiles, and Lydia are going to the Nemeton. The rest are staying here.”

“But Allison-”

“Allison’s father may need her help and you will survive without her for a few hours.”

I grumbled under my breath, despite the fact Derek would definitely be able to hear it. “I know that. Unlike you and Stiles.”

“Get in the car, Scott.”

“Fine. I get the front seat.”

“Stiles sits in the front. You’re in back.”

“Fine.”

Allison pulled me into a short hug, then pushed me towards Derek’s Camaro with a sad, little small. As I walked past Ethan, I faltered for a second before deciding to squeeze his shoulder in reassurance. He looked up at me with watery eyes for a second and nodded his head in thanks. I removed my hand after patting his shoulder lightly and made my way to the Camaro without looking back.

* * *

 

Stiles was leaning patiently against the Nemeton clutching the cylinder with the Nogitsune in it close to his chest. He was watching in interest as Deaton drew different symbols into the dirt around the Nemeton in the mountain ash circle and outside it. None of the symbols looked even remotely familiar to me and I couldn’t even begin to guess what they all meant. Deaton created one last perfect swirl, then stepped back to check over his work.

“That’s it.”

“What are they exactly?”

“Protection symbols. People don’t normally use them unless they’re doing an important ritual and have plenty of time to put them down properly.”

“What kind of protection are we talking here? Are they protecting me or you?”

“Both.”

“Awesome. Guess we’re ready to do this.”

“Don’t forget it’s important that you believe.”

“I remember. Got to believe that you can do it for it to work.”

Stiles took a deep breath, then stepped up onto the Nemeton until he was standing right in the middle of it. He took another deep breath before sitting with his legs crossed and the cylinder containing the Nogitsune in middle of them. He gave us a weary smile and closed his eyes with his hands wrapped tightly around the container. His head tilted back slightly like he wasn’t physically able to hold it completely upright anymore.

The same thing that happened to Stiles at the school started to happen again. The green-blue glow started around his eyes and moved slowly down starting to become more prominent when it hit the bigger veins in his neck. In no time at all the glow had travelled down to Stiles’s hands and was starting to become brighter. His grip on the container tightened as the glow around him got bright until I finally had to turn my head away from the light.

All of a sudden the blinding glowing stopped and when I turned to look at Stiles the cylinder containing the Nogitsune was gone. Stiles’s eyes were now open, glowing the exact same color as the veins weaving around his body. The glow around him was now a soft shimmering that was almost pleasant to look at, not at all intimidating. Stiles brought his hands up to his face and stared at them in wonderment as he flexed his fingers experimentally.

“This is so strange. I feel kind of like a walking human glow stick.”

“Is the Nogitsune back where it belongs?”

“It wouldn’t be getting out of there for a long, long time.” Stiles cocked his head to the side and got a strange look on his face. “Do you hear that?”

“No. Should we be hearing something?”

“Sounds like twigs snapping. Someone’s coming. Not sure who. They are making a lot of noise. I don’t think they’re particularly concerned with us hearing them.”

“How can he hear that?” I turned to look at Deaton in complete confusion. “Is he supposed to have better hearing than a werewolf?”

“He’s connected to the Nemeton right now.”

“I’m not following.”

“The Nemeton is powerful because it draws its powerful from nature to maintain the balance. Since Stiles is tapping into it, he’s also tapping into the nature the Nemeton is connected to.”

“That’s a wonderful magic lesson, but we don’t really have time for it.” Stiles’s eyes were scanning the surrounding forest like he could easily see through the darkness and into the distance. “They’re getting closer and they’re angry. Definitely angry.”

“Can you sense who it is?”

“In the short time I’ve had these newfound powers, I haven’t managed to hone in my sensing people abilities. I know that may come as a shock to you, but it’s true.”

“Not the time for sarcasm.”

“Derek, it’s always the time for sarcasm. If the world was ending, sarcasm would still have a place.”

“Can you tell us anything besides the fact whoever it is, is fast and angry?”

“They’re headed this way.”

“We got that.”

“Werewolf. An alpha.” Stiles’s head snapped to the left side of the clearing so fast it probably gave him whiplash. “Deucalion. It’s Deucalion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up tomorrow.


	29. Derek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles puts the Nogitsune in the Nemeton and someone expected shows up.

Stiles was standing on the Nemeton with his hands fisted at his side and staring off into the forest. He was being strangely quiet and alert while he seemingly watched Deucalion getting closer to us. I took several steps closer to the section of the forest Stiles was looking at and was finally able to hear him. Deucalion wasn’t even bothering to mask the sound of his feet hitting the crunchy forest floor as he sped towards us.

“I have an idea.”

“I thought I was the one in charge of coming up with all the ideas.” Stiles jumped down from the Nemeton and walked over to stand next to me. “What did you have in mind?”

“Do you think you could heal his eyesight?”

“Seriously? I have no idea how to control this and you’re asking me if I can heal someone’s eyesight. On top of that, why would I want to do that? Wouldn’t being able to see us make thing more difficult for us?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Derek, what? Of course I trust you. Stupid question. I should calling you Idiotwolf.”

“Good.” I turned to Deaton hoping that he would provide the answer to my question without being cryptic about it like he normally is. “Is it possible for him to do it?”

“Sparks typically have an affinity for connecting with natural things and being able to bend them to their will. Since the body is a natural thing, I believe he will be able to if he simply believes in himself.”

“It won’t put Stiles in any danger?”

“No. He’s still channel through the Nemeton. As long as he doesn’t disturb the balance of nature, he has an unlimited supply of power.”

“Are you going to tell me how to stop the channelling at any point?”

“Once Deucalion is dealt with.”

“Awesome.”

Stiles let out a huff of air and focused his attention back on the forest in front of him. “Are you going to tell us what the plan is beside me healing his eyeballs?”

“You’ll see.”

“That’s very comforting, Derek.”

“You said you trust me.”

“And I do, but I also like to know what the plan is before the alpha of the Alpha Pack shows up to try and rip our throats out.”

“He’s not going to rip out anyone’s throat.”

“You’re confidence is wonderful, but I still want to know what exactly the plan is.”

Before I could try to reassure Stiles again, Deucalion busted through the trees in front of us with his eyes trained on Stiles and I. He slowed from his furious run to a slow, predatory stalk forward between the last few trees. His claws dragged over the bark of the last tree in a typical menacing villain way like the ones in the movies Stiles loves so much. He gnashed his teeth together a couple of times and began to slowly pace back and forth not far from Stiles and I.

“I would have expected you to be hiding behind another one of your mountain ash circles while you waited for the rest of your pack to show up. Are they too crippled with grief over the loss of your beta? The one you stole from me.”

“I don’t want to fight you.” I motioned for Stiles to go ahead and try to fix Deucalion’s vision.

Stiles grabbed my hand and gripped it tightly in his own before he closed his eyes letting his face relax as he did so. The hand Stiles was holding started to warm up as Stiles let the energy in his body surge up to the surface. His green-blue glow pulsed brightly a few times, then relaxed back to the pleasant low light it had been earlier. When his eyes opened up again, they were completely focused on the werewolf standing across from us.

Deucalion was shifted back to his human form looking at the woods around him in amazement. He blinked several times like he expected his newfound vision to disappeared, but finally stopped when he realized it wouldn’t be going away. His gaze finally settled back on me and the look on his face made it clear that he couldn’t possibly begin to understand why I had done this. The words died in his throat after he opened his mouth so he looked at me for an explanation instead.

“My mom told me about you. She said you were a great alpha and even more incredible man. When Gerard took your vision and your pack, he took a part of you, you thought you’d never get back, but you can. You just needed someone to push you in the right direction. I think you can be that person my mom used to tell me about, that’s why we’re letting you go. There’s been enough chaos, destruction, and death around here.”

“You’re really going to let me walk away from this? Even after the things I’ve done to you and your pack.”

“Everyone has done things they aren’t proud of. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a second chance. That being said, I will warn you. If I hear about you hurting or killing people again, I’ll track you down and put an end to you. Fair enough?”

“Fair enough.” Deucalion started to turn around to leave, but stopped before he got all the way around. “Your mother would be proud of the alpha you’ve become.”

With that last statement, Deucalion took off into the dark forest quickly disappearing among the dense trees. For several minutes I stared at the spot where Deucalion had finally disappeared from my sight, but was pulled back to the present by someone tugging on my hand. I turned to look at Stiles who was smiling fondly at me while he gripped my hand a little tighter in his. My hand squeezed back in response, then eased up on Stiles’s so I didn’t accidently hurt him.

“That was a pretty great plan. Still would have worked if you had told me before Deucalion showed up.”

I rolled my eyes in mock exasperation and let go of Stiles’s hand so I could wrap my arm around his waist. “I guess I should be glad that you could admit I came up with a great plan. That’s a big step for you.”

“Don’t get sarcastic. It’s only cute when I do it.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s definitely so.”

“Guys?” Scott’s voice sounded strained and definitely like he’d rather be anywhere, but here. “Can you flirt later? I want to go home now.”

“Home sounds like great idea. I’m ready to begin an early hibernation. After I disconnect from the Nemeton.”

* * *

 

All I could see from behind my closed eyelids was the rhythmic turning of the fan directly above my head. Stiles had left the light in his room on before he had gone to take a shower, leaving me the choice of getting up to turn it off or lying here with the lights on. I rationalized my decision not to get up to turn them off by assuming Stiles would probably trip and hurt himself if I turned them off. My decision had absolutely nothing to do with the fact I had already gotten comfortable and simply didn’t want to move.

The door to Stiles’s room opened and a familiar heartbeat got even louder than it had been a moment before. Just as quickly as the door was opened, it was shut once again and the sound of bare feet crossing the room filled my ears. A pile of cloths swished through the air, then settle on the floor where Stiles had undoubtedly thrown them. The bed next to me dipped right before a warm body fell heavily onto my own with a grunt.

“I expected to come in here and find my room completely dark with a bed full of alpha werewolf. All I got was the alpha werewolf.”

“Didn’t want you to fall.”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say buddy.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I think everyone is probably tired after today and is looking forward to passing out as soon as they can whether the lights are on or off.”

“What happened to going into hibernation?” I opened my eyes so I could look at the face hovering right above mine. “You’re very talkative for someone planning to hibernate.”

“I want to talk. Is that so bad?”

“No, but I thought you were tired. We can talk in the morning.”

“Can we talk for a while? Please?”

“Whatever you want.”

Stiles nodded, then lowered his head onto my chest and curled his hand into the fabric of my shirt. “Did you leave Cora at the loft alone?”

“She’s with Isaac.”

“And by with Isaac you mean…”

“I caught them kissing the earlier today.”

“How sweet.”

“Not sweet. The total opposite of sweet.”

“You just have big brother goggles on. It’s cute. Think of it this way: they both deserve to be happy. If that happiness means being together, then so be it.”

“Still doesn’t mean I want to see them making out on my couch.” Stiles laughed into my chest and made my body shake along with his. “You wouldn’t think it was that funny if it was your dad and Melissa.”

“Touché. What happens now?”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s always something next, right? What do you think it’s going to be?”

“Maybe there will be, but I don’t care about that right now. Right now I want to enjoy the peace and quiet. I want to catch up on all the time we’ve lost.”

“I do, too.”

I ran my hand up and down Stiles’s back in comfort. “We’ll have plenty of time for that after you get some rest. I can tell you’re exhausted. Get some sleep. You deserve it.”

“You’ll stay with me.”

“Not going anywhere. Promise.”

“Alright. Good night, Derek.”

“Good night.”

* * *

 

The thing that woke me up the next morning wasn’t the light streaming in the window or the intense need to relieve myself, but the fact my arm felt like it had fallen off in the middle night. Stiles was breathing heavily in my ear and drooling all over my shoulder and neck. Every so often he would make a strange noise in his sleep and move around like he was going to get off my arm only to settle right back down. I was debating whether or not I should try to slide my arm out from under him when Stiles snorted himself awake.

His eye blinked owlishly at me for a few seconds while he tried to make sense of the scene in front of him. He ran a hand through his sleep mussed hair and smacked his lips a few times. Long fingers searched clumsily for something and finally ended up intertwining with one of my hands. A triumphant smile appeared on his face, then he dropped right back onto where he had been lying on my chest earlier.

“Are you actually awake now?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

“Whether or not it means I get a good morning kiss?”

My eyes rolled of their own accord at Stiles’s ridiculousness, but that didn’t keep me from flipping us over. Stiles was now pinned underneath me with a playful smirk dancing across his lips, even though I was the one on top. His hands smoothed over my shoulders, then down my back slowly like he was savouring the moment. I ran a hand down Stiles’s side in return and enjoyed the shiver I got for my troubles.

Stiles must have decided I was taking too long to get to the part he had been looking forward to if him arching up into me was anything to go by. His eyes sparked in an obvious challenge and tugged lightly on the two handfuls of my hair he now had. I dipped my head down to press a chaste, closed mouth kiss that had Stiles humming pleasantly against my mouth. The vibration of his lips had mine parting open slightly giving Stiles the opening he needed to deepen the kiss.

Our lips rolled lazily over each other’s, neither of us in a hurry to have this calm moment end. One of Stiles’s legs came up to wrap around my waist, while the other twisted up and down both of mine. I let my body dip down lower so I was pressing Stiles further into the soft mattress under us. Stiles let out another hum of approval and did everything he could to press our bodies tighter together.

“Boys?” I pulled away from Stiles abruptly knowing my cheeks were more than likely flushed pink in embarrassment. “I know you two want to have a couple’s reunion after what happened the past couple of months, but you can do that at Derek’s loft. Breakfast is going to be ready in ten minutes. I expect both of you to be down there. No sneaking out any windows.”

“Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t know him?”

I smothered my laughter in Stiles’s throat causing him to squirm to try to get away from me. “That would definitely be a hard sale since you live with him.”

“There’s always something.”

“That’s life.”

“It’s too early for you to be saying philosophical shit. I need at least three cups of coffee in me before that can happen.”

“I think I can arrange that.”

“My hero. Now, I just need one more thing from you.”

“What’s that?”

“Carry me downstairs.” Stiles tightened the grip his arms and legs had around my body while he smiled brightly at me. “Chop, chop.”

* * *

 

“How did you all get in here?” Jackson, Lydia, Scott, Kira, Boyd, and Erica were all scattered around the loft with Cora and Isaac sitting innocently off to the side. “I don’t remember inviting all of you over. That’s something I definitely wouldn’t forget.”

“They showed up this morning while you were still at Stiles’s house.”

“You let them in?”

“Nope. They let themselves in. I didn’t bother to stop them. It’s not my loft, so I figured it’s not my problem.”

“I hope you know I don’t have enough food to feed all you miscreants.”

Erica held up a plastic bag that looked absolutely stuffed full and ready to burst. “We’ve got that covered. There’s stuff in the fridge and the freezer, too. Want some gummy bears?”

“I’m good. Why are you all here?”

“You’ve got the biggest space and we thought you’d bring Stiles with you. We were hoping to have a relaxation day. Eat junk food, play games, watch movies. Typical lazy teenager stuff.”

“He’s spending the morning with his dad before he goes to work. He’ll be here after.”

“Excellent. I’ve missed my Batman. While we wait for him, what do you guys want to watch first?” Erica held up two handfuls of fanned out movies with a smile. “I’ve got just about every genre you could think of. What do you guys think?”

“Something funny!”

“Seconded!”

“Thirded!” Scott scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion, then said the word under his breath again. “Or whatever the word is. Let’s do Rush Hour. Stiles hates that movie. He won’t mind if we watch it without him.”

“Rush Hour it is. I call dibs on Derek’s soft black blanket!”

The pack all started arguing among each other and doing their best to push each other’s buttons in only the way people close with one another could. Even Boyd, who normally sat impassively off to the side, was poking fun at Jackson and smirking when Jackson would get a pissy look on his face in response.  Erica and my sister were sniping at each other like they’d known each other their entire lives, while Lydia was saying things under her breath that had Isaac blushing a bright, vibrant red. I hesitantly took the chair next to Kira and raised my eyebrow at her which she simply responded to by shrugging.

“Where are Danny and Ethan?”

“I think Ethan needed a day to mourn and Danny wanted to be there for him. He was pretty distraught after last night. I can’t even begin to imagine how terrible it must have been for him to lose his brother.”

“It’s not easy, but we can’t crowd him right away. That could do more harm than good. He’ll come to us when he’s ready. Until then, Danny will be there for him in any way he can.”

“He’s still part of the pack right? Even though we’ve defeated the Nogitsune and the Alpha Pack.”

“Yes. As long as he wants to be a part of our pack, he can be.”

“Our pack?”

“You’re pack, too.”

Kira looked down at her hands with a shy smile on her face. “You don’t blame me for what my mom did. She tried to kill a member of the pack. She didn’t even care it wasn’t his fault.”

“Her actions aren’t your actions and I understand where she was coming from. She felt responsible for what the Nogitsune was doing and wanted to keep people from getting hurt. She didn’t go the right way about it, but she tried.”

“Thank you.”

I wrinkled my eyes up in confusion and turned my body more towards Kira. “For what?”

“Understanding.”

* * *

 

“I see you all got the party started without me.” Stiles threw his night bag onto my bed, then plopped down into my lap. “Are those Skittles? Throw me some.”

Erica tossed a Skittle right into Stiles’s open mouth and threw her hands up in victory after she did so. Stiles gave her two thumbs up while he munched happily on the Skittle in his mouth and looked around the room at everyone else. He wiggled a little to get more comfortable and ended up pushing me around until he was satisfied with the arrangement. I tapped my fingers lightly against his knee where he had placed it during his rearrangement, only to have my fingers quickly stilled by Stiles’s.

Stiles turned his head so his nose brushed across my cheek and he could see me better. I followed Stiles’s lead, pulling back a little so my face wouldn’t be pressed up against his. He laced our fingers together tightly and leaned forward to give me a soft kiss that didn’t even last a second. His forehead rested comfortably against my own and he let out a hum of contentment.

“Get a room you two!” Something soft collided against the side of our faces causing us to pull away from each other. “Finally, suck face some other time!”

“We weren’t even kissing!”

“Still disgusting, Stilinski.”

“Bite me, Whittemore.”

“Can we get back to our movie day? I want to watch Jurassic Park!”

“Yes, dinosaurs!”

“Dinosaurs eating people.”

“Dinosaurs eating lawyers! Even better!”

“Hey!” Jackson was turning he head so he could glare at both Stiles and Erica, who had howled in laughter at Stiles’s comment. “My parents are lawyers.”

“I am perfectly aware of that. Doesn’t mean I’m going to take back what I said. Lawyers getting eaten by dinosaurs is amazing. I stand by my beliefs.”

“I know where you sleep, Stilinski.”

“Really? You know where I sleep. That’s so shocking. It’s not like you’ve been to my house before or even, gasp, stayed the night!”

Erica said a dramatic “bum, bum, bum,” while Jackson was busy trying to burn holes into Stiles’s face with his eyes. “You’re such a pain in the ass.”

“I’m your favorite pain in the ass.”

“No, that would be me.”

“Nice one, Lyds.” Stiles stood up and leaned over the coffee table so he could give Lydia a high five. “Are we watching this movie now or what? I don’t even know when the last time I watched a movie was. It’s great to be back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter up tomorrow.


	30. Melissa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a few months after the pack has defeated the Nogitsune and the Alpha Pack and things are going fantastic.

The sound of my alarm going off after a good night’s sleep had me strongly considering just shutting it off and going back to sleep. I knew I couldn’t do that though since my shift at the hospital started in an hour and a half and I still had to get Scott up for school. Like every year the closer it got to winter break, the harder it was to get Scott out of bed for school. At this point, I practically had to drag him out of bed by his ankles to get him to go to school.

To put off the evitable battle, I grabbed a pair of scrubs out of my dresser and threw them on quickly. I then headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and put my hair up into a messy pony tail. My hand hovered thoughtfully over the makeup I had sitting out on the counter before deciding against it. I deserved to be lazy and not put on makeup every once and a while.

“Time to face the beast.”

I smacked my hands against the bathroom countertop and put my best steely face on in preparation for waking up Scott. I took a deep breath and headed to Scott’s room with my invisible sleeves rolled up in case things got dirty. The last day before holiday break was always the worst and the most unpredictable of the days leading up to the break. One year he had almost managed to kick me square in the nose in his fight to get away from his obligations.

“Scott, you need to get up now. School starts in an hour.”

“Five more minutes.” Scott tried to turn over so his back would be to me, but I got a hold of the blankets before he could do it.

“Oh, no you don’t. You say five more minutes, but I know you’ll just say that again in five minutes. It’s time to get up. Stiles is coming to get you in thirty minutes. You’re not going to make him late on the last day of the semester.”

“So I can make him late on all the other days?”

“Don’t twist my words. Get out of bed.”

“Five more minutes.”

“Nope. Out.”

“But mom!”

“Don’t ‘but mom’ me. You’re a big boy now. You shouldn’t be negotiating with your mother about when to get out of bed. Up, up, up.”

“No.”

To emphasize his point Scott spun around in his bed until he had his blankets wrapped tightly around him burrito style. I rolled my eyes and took two fists full of blankets that I proceeded to yank as hard as I possibly could. The blankets loosened enough for me to begin the arduous process of removing each blanket one at a time until Scott was only left with his thin bedsheet. I rubbed my hands together menacingly and grabbed a hold of the last blanket firmly before I tugged with all of my might.

Scott let out a pitiful whine when the final blanket was removed and his skin was exposed to the cold air of his bedroom. I was seriously considering opening his bedroom window so he would have to get up and shut it if he wanted the room not to be absolutely freezing. This thought was killed at the sound of something clattering and banging around downstairs. My back stiffened and I grabbed a hold of the crosse Scott had left leaning against his bed, despite the fact I told him multiple times not to because it could fall over while he was sleeping.

“Don’t think this is over.” All I got in response was Scott grumbling under his breath and searching blindly for one of the blankets I had tossed clear across the room.

I tightened my grip on the crosse and cautiously headed out of Scott’s bedroom and down the stairs to the living room. I strained my ears to try and pick up on where the intruder was in the house, but unlike my son I didn’t have advanced werewolf hearing to help me. It wasn’t until I was almost all the way down the stairs that I heard someone muttering in the kitchen. I lifted the crosse up and back so I could get more force behind the swing I was going to take at the intruder.

The crosse was halfway through the air when I realized it wasn’t an intruder, but Stiles standing in the middle of my kitchen with his eyes wide. I barely had enough time to divert the crosse away from the boy and towards my poor refrigerator. Stiles was clutching his mug of coffee tightly to his chest and opening and closing his mouth in shock at what just happened. I brushed the strand of hair that had fallen into my face out of the way and put my hands on my hips in the signature mom fashion.

“What are you doing here this early?”

“I figured Scott wouldn’t get out of bed so I brought over coffee to try to lure him out of his lair.” Stiles motioned to the cup of coffee sitting on the counter behind him. “I accidently dropped the sugar container and some of your silverware. I was cleaning it up before I went up there.”

“Right. He’s still in bed. I was trying to wake him up.”

“Okay. I see you’ve moved on from using your baseball bat on your intruders to a crosse.”

“It was the first thing I found I could hit someone with.”

“Can I go up there now or are you going to try to hit me again?”

“If you would knock before coming in, that wouldn’t be an issue.”

Stiles’s face wrinkled up in confusion as he grabbed the cup of coffee. “Why would I do that? I have a key.”

“So you don’t get hit by sports equipment.”

“I’m sure my dad would forgive you if you hit me on accident. He’d probably ask you to do it again.”

“Go wake up Scott.” Stiles chuckled as he walked past me only to stop after I ruffled his hair affectionately and started to mumble under his breath about messing up his hair.

* * *

 

I let out an exhausted sigh as I turned the key in the front door and let myself into a suspiciously quiet house. Scott had said a couple of the pack members would be coming over for a video game night to kick off the winter break. Obviously I assumed that meant the house would be full of the sounds of things blowing up and boys yelling at each other in anger. The suspicious quiet had me slowly putting down my keys on the entryway table and stepping into the living room instead of grabbing a glass of wine and heading right upstairs.

I poked my head into the living room and was shocked to see that a surprising number of people were actually in there. Scott, Isaac, and Cora had controllers in their hands and were focused intently on the screen not too far from them. Kira was relaxing on the loveseat with a face mask on and her eyes hidden by a couple of cucumber slices, while Allison was doing the same on the recliner. Lydia was sitting in between Stiles’s legs leaning her back against his chest while she meticulously painted her fingernails a bright red.

I cleared my throat uncertainly causing five pairs of eyes to look directly at me. “How was the last day of classes?”

“It was fine, mom. Did you need something?”

“No. I didn’t hear yelling and screaming and bombs going off when I came in so I thought I’d come check on you.”

“Um, sorry?”

“I thought you were just doing a video game night.”

“Well Erica wanted to have a date night with Boyd so he decided not to come over. Jackson and Danny are hanging out because it’s been a while since they’ve done anything that’s just the two of them. Isaac, Stiles, and I were going to play video games by ourselves, but Allison, Kira, Lydia, and Cora wanted to come over. Lydia thought they’d have a spa night considering I don’t have enough controllers for everyone.”

I tapped my chin thoughtfully and turned my attention to Lydia. “Do you have any more of that face mask?”

“I made sure to leave some for you. It’s in the fridge along with a pair of cucumber slices. I could do your nails for you if you want. I brought all the stuff for a full mani and pedi. Stiles can give you a back massage while I work.”

“She’s turned me into her own personal manservant.”

“You were already my personal manservant. What do you say?”

“Hanging out with my son and his high school friends is probably weird, but it’s been forever since I’ve had a spa day. Let me get changed, shower, and get a glass of wine.”

“That should give me enough time to finish up my nails and get everything ready for you.”

I gave Lydia a grateful nod and headed up the stairs to hurry through a warm shower instead of taking my time like I normally would. The prospect of a night full of pampering was so exciting I couldn’t wait to get started. There was also the added bonus that getting my nails done tonight meant I would have them all done up for my date tomorrow night. A part of me was sure Lydia was well aware of this fact and that’s why she had decided to invite herself and the other girls over.

For the first time in a long time, I actually blow dried my hair so I could flat iron it in the morning without it turning into a static mess. I messily braided my hair that way it wouldn’t get in the way when I put the face mask on and headed downstairs. Everyone was exactly where they were when I had gone upstairs, the only thing that made it obvious someone had gotten up was the stuff set up next to the free chair. I went into the kitchen real quick to get a glass of wine, then went back in the living room and took a seat in the chair.

“One second.” Lydia pulled her fingers out of what looked like one of the nail dryers they use in the salons and made a satisfied sound. “What color are you going to want?”

“Do you have a navy blue?”

Lydia nodded and pulled a bottle of nail polish out of a large box next to her. “I’ll do your toes first, then I’ll do your fingernails. We’ll put on your face mask while your nails dry.”

“Thanks for doing this.”

“Us girls have to stick together. Stiles, go on.”

“Why do I always get included with the girls?”

“Do as you’re told.”

“Bossy.”

I chuckled when Lydia rolled her eyes at Stiles, then shoved him in my direction with a fond smile on her mouth. Stiles bumped his hip playful against Lydia’s in response and finally moved to stand behind my chair like Lydia had been wanting him to. Long fingers started to gently knead the tight muscles in my shoulder and back. My muscles slowly started to relax under the constant pressure until it felt like they were slowly turning into jelly.

“Excited for your date tomorrow?” Stiles was leaning over the chair so his face dangled upside down in front of me. “My dad won’t shut up about it. He spent all last night worrying that he didn’t have anything to wear on it. It’s like he’s trying to impress you or something.”

“This is your doing then?”

“I figured if my dad gets to have Parrish and Derek help him out, you should get someone on your side. Lydia assured me this is how girls do it.”

“You’re a good kid.”

Stiles grinned dopily and went back to massage my shoulders. “I try.”

“I’m not sure that true.”

“That’s rude. Maybe I should convince my dad to call this whole thing off. I can pull out the big guns if I have to. I’m not above crying.”

“No shame.”

“None at all.”

* * *

 

I hadn’t entirely understood what the “pack nights,” as Stiles liked to call them, were about until the Sheriff, Parrish, and I were invited to one. It quickly became apparent that all pack night was, was a big get together that the pack all went to and watched movies while eating junk. There was no talking about the supernatural or training for any impending battles. It was just a bunch of kids sitting around being lazy and enjoying each other’s company.

After that first night, Derek had made it very clear that the Sheriff, Parrish, and I were always welcomed at pack nights since he considered us part of the pack. The three of us came whenever we could, but we were rarely all there because of our ever changing schedule. However, tonight was the first night in a long time that all three of us had off during a pack night. Scott couldn’t be happier that I would have three people close to my age to talk to and less of a chance of saying something that could embarrass him.

“Want another beer, Melissa?”

“Yes, please.”

Derek pulled two beers out of the fridge, took off the bottle caps, and placed one in front of me. “Hiding away from the noise for a while?”

“You would think I’d be used to it considering Stiles spent a bunch of his time at my house growing up, but somehow that wasn’t enough training for spending time with an entire group of rowdy teenagers and Stiles.”

“I don’t think anyone ever gets used to Stiles’s version of loud. It’s unique.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“You coming back in?” Derek motioned his bottle towards the living room. “I think the Sheriff keeps looking for you. I’ve stopped Stiles from pointing it out a couple times now. No need to embarrass him.”

“Yeah. I’m ready to face the outrageous teenagers you call a pack.”

“They do pretty good, even if they can be extremely annoying when they want to be.”

I chuckled lightly and patted Derek softly on the arm before making my way back to the noisy living area that was full of people. As soon as I walked into the room, Stiles leaned over Scott to whisper something in his dad’s ear causing the older Stilinski to blush. He immediately slapped his son upside the head and said something that had Stiles throwing his head back and laughing. Scott pushed Stiles back into his seat, then got up to sit next to Allison.

Derek took Scott’s place on the couch and rested him arm against the back of the couch so Stiles could curl himself into Derek’s body. He leaned down to drop a kiss on the top of Stiles’s head, then turned his attention to the ridiculous werewolf movie playing on the TV. I stood awkwardly at the edge of the room, not entirely sure where to sit, until Parrish stood up from his place next to Sheriff Stilinski on the loveseat. Parrish motioned for me to take his place while he went to sit on the floor in between Isaac and Jackson.

“Did you get enough time away from the gremlins?”

“Really, dad? Gremlins? That’s the best you can come up with.”

“Well I can’t call you bloodsuckers. That makes it sound like you’re vampires.”

“In what way are we bloodsuckers?”

“Watch your movie, kid.” Stiles snorted and turned his attention dramatically back to the TV like his dad had told him to. “Anyways, back to the conversation we were having before my rude child interrupted. How was your break away from them?”

“Good. I don’t think I’m in danger of going out of my mind anytime soon. I’ve staved it off for a couple more hours.”

“I might need to do the same soon. So, anything new at work?”

I heard Stiles start to say something only to be stopped by Derek putting a hand over his mouth. “Nothing much. Same old, same old. Idiots do stupid things that land them in the ER and I stitch them back up. What about you?”

“I’m considering opening back up a few old cases. Learning about the supernatural got me thinking that some of those cases might not be as closed as I thought they were.”

“Is that a good idea? Could open old wounds.”

“I know, but some of these cases have bugged me for years. Something about them didn’t seem quite right. It’s my job to figure out the truth and I want to do that.”

“Hopefully, you get the answers you want. You’re good at your job. I’m sure you’ll figure them out.”

“They have the weirdest way of flirting.”

“Be quiet, Stiles.”

* * *

 

“Hey, mom?”

“Yes.” I looked up from the book I was reading to see Scott poking his head around the corner of the staircase. “What is it?”

“Is it alright if the pack comes over? Derek’s loft is getting fumigated and we wanted to watch a couple of movies before Danny, Lydia, and Jackson leave for Christmas vacation.”

“Sure. What time are they coming over?” Right after the words were out of my mouth the doorbell rang through the house.

“Now?”

“What were you going to do if I said no?”

“I didn’t really think you’d say no.”

“Of course you didn’t. Don’t be too loud. I don’t want the neighbors calling the cops on us.”

“Why not? You know Sheriff Stilinski would be the one to come over.”

I closed the book in my lap with a sigh and went to answer the door since it was obvious my son wasn’t planning on doing it any time soon. “You’re starting to get as bad as Stiles.”

“We just like to pull your legs. We’re glad you’re both happy.”

“That’s very sweet. I’m glad it’s not weird for you both.”

“It’s still a little weird.”

“A little weird is better than completely weird.”

I pulled opened the door and smiled at the grinning werewolf standing at the front of the large group standing on my porch step. “Hi, Ms. M. I wasn’t sure what you liked so I brought all the chocolate I could find. Hope we’re not interrupting anything. Stiles assured us his dad was at work.”

“Nice to see you as always, Erica. I’ll take the Heath bar. What are we watching tonight?”

“Your son is finally being forced to watch Star Wars.”

“I blame his father for that.”

“That’s probably fair.”

Erica pulled a Heath bar out of her bag of goodies and handed it to me before walking into my house like she owned the place. Everyone else filed in after her, thanking me as they went by. Derek was the last come in sporting an apologetic look on his face. Unlike the rest of the pack, Derek stayed in the entryway and waited for me to close the door.

“Sorry about this. Cora found a bug this morning and threatened mutiny if I didn’t get someone to come out.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I don’t mind having them over as long as they clean up after themselves.”

“I’ll make sure they do. I know you said it’s no trouble, but I still want to thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. This is the kind of stuff pack does for each other, right? If I’m part of your pack, it means I’m going to keep doing this kind of stuff for all of you.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t thank you for doing it. I imagine you have better things to do on your day off than listen to teenagers argue about what superhero is the best.”

“Maybe, but I don’t mind. Growing up I had a big family and having them here, it feels like family.”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

I smiled happily at Derek and pulled him in for a quick hug. “Let’s not keep the pack waiting. You know Stiles will complain until he gets his walking, talking werewolf shaped body pillow.”

“Damn straight!”

“Language!”

“Sorry, Mama McCall.”

“No, he’s not.”

“Definitely not.”

Derek wrapped an arm around my shoulders and guided me towards the living room where we took up our respective seats quickly. Everyone else was already curled up under blankets and on each other with their snacks within arm’s reach. The menu screen for Star Wars: A New Hope already pulled up on the TV filling the room with the Star Wars theme music. I looked around the room and wasn’t able to hold back the smile I got seeing everyone looking so content after months of pain. They all might have scars, but it was obvious none of them were going to let that hold them back from living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you all enjoyed the sequel! This is all I have planned for this series for now, but I might add to it later. If anyone has any suggestions, just leave a comment and I'll take it into consideration. That's all for now!


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